Events and Announcements

Faculty And Staff: Submit Nominations For The James R. And Mary B. Wilkins COVID-19 Special Awards

These special awards for spring 2020 are presented to members of the faculty and staff that are chosen from nominations submitted with consideration of the following criteria: outstanding leadership during the COVID-19 crisis that helped to sustain life, continue/enable education, or make life more fulfilling for the university and for our communities. Send nominations to Kim Keckley at kkeckley@su.edu by 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7.

REMINDER: Nominations For Staff Council Opened

Staff Council membership is open to all full-time, benefited staff members with at least one year of service to the university. The group is composed of 13 staff members. Each category (administrative, service and support) has one dedicated staff council member, and ten additional members of staff council serve as at-large members. Nominations for staff council opened Aug. 3, and will remain open until Monday, Aug. 10, at 5 p.m. Nominees will be contacted by email on Wednesday, Aug. 12, and have until Wednesday, Aug. 19, to accept their nominations. Elections will follow in early September.

Staff Council meets monthly throughout the year and focuses on the benefits and needs of all staff members. Its concerns and recommendations are presented to the University Cabinet by the Staff Council president, who is a full voting member of the University Cabinet, the main policy-making board for the institution. Find more information on the Staff Council page in Canvas. Questions? Contact Staff Council at staffcouncil@su.edu.

REMINDER: Do You Not Have a Smartphone? 

Daily symptom checks will soon be managed via Shenandoah’s new mobile app, Shenandoah Go. As we get ready to roll out this new functionality, we want to make sure that everyone in the campus community has a device capable of downloading apps. Complete this form to let us know if you do not have a smartphone, iPad, or tablet. For questions, contact Rebecca Ellis at rellis@su.edu.

REMINDER: Participate In The National Backpack Awareness Drive

The Shenandoah University chapter of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD)  is collecting school supplies to benefit Orchard View and Garland R. Quarles elementary schools. Any donation is appreciated. Donations are being accepted until Thursday, Aug. 20. If you are looking to make a donation, please send an email to cotad.su@gmail.com. Payment donations are being accepted on Cash app at $DomoniqueGholson or via Venmo at @Domonique-Gholson. Questions? Please contact cotad.su@gmail.com.

Participate in ‘Trauma and Racism: How Do We Cope?’

Join Cedric Wilson, associate director of the Counseling Center, and Associate Professor of Religion Meredith Minister, Ph.D., in the third session of this series to explore what it means to be uncomfortable versus unsafe as a white ally confronting racism. In this session, intentionally designed for white allies, participants are encouraged to interrogate how racism permeates relationships and learn how to work through discomfort. This event is slated for Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 3 p.m. via Zoom. Questions? Please contact the Mosaic Center at mosaiccenter@su.edu. 

Attend The McCormick Civil War Institute Virtual Event

The McCormick Civil War Institute (MCWI), as a result of the generosity of Dr. David and Mrs. Melanie Miles, was able to have three students work during the summer on a special research project, “‘Outlived the Odium Put Upon them by the F.F.V.’s’: Union Veterans Who Resided in the Shenandoah Valley at the Time of the 1890 Census.” Close examination of these records sheds a bit of light on Unionist sentiment in the Shenandoah Valley at the time of the Civil War and also the roles Union veterans (both native to the Valley and those who moved here after the conflict) played in the postwar era in the region. On Tuesday, July 28, at noon, the MCWI, including its director, Jonathan A. Noyalas, ’01, M.A., and students Nikki Roland, Jessica Kronewetter and Jay Richardson, hosts a Zoom session to share some of the preliminary findings. This is a multi-year effort and our work this summer just scratched the surface, but we turned up what we at least think is some rather interesting and important information. Questions? Contact Noyalas at jnoyalas01@su.edu.

Celebrate Juneteenth Together

This year, the Black Student Union, PRIDE, and the Mosaic Center are partnering to celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day. Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the 1865 emancipation of the last enslaved African-Americans in the Confederacy. As we navigate recent and historical racialized trauma against Black Americans in the U.S., we want to acknowledge, honor, and uplift our Black students, alumni, staff and faculty at Shenandoah. Here’s how you can join in celebrating Black history and heritage: 

• Participate in the “Black is Beautiful Because…” Campaign by posting a photo, video, or artistic expression using our custom Facebook and Instagram frame/filter. This campaign is designed to showcase the undeniable magic, talent and beauty of our Black SU community. Don’t forget to use #SUBlackIsBeautiful and tag @shenandoahuniversity. Photos will be collected and shared during our Juneteenth Zoom Celebration.
• Follow @su_blackstudentunion_, @mosaiccentersu, and @shenandoahuniversity for daily African American history facts you were likely not taught in school. We will post each day beginning Friday, June 19, Freedom Day, until Saturday, July 4, Independence Day! 

Attend the Juneteenth Celebration via Zoom on Friday, June 19, at 10 a.m. A reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by Shenandoah community members, a poem reading on the history and importance of Juneteenth by Alexis Whitney, and more are scheduled for the celebration.