Monday Update: How are you doing?

Published: October 26, 2020

_{By: UW-Parkside Marketing & Communications}

Colleagues,

These days, COVID has us thinking differently about where we go, who we see, how long we talk, and how close we get. We’re obsessing over masking, handwashing, testing, tracking, tracing, isolating, quarantining, and how we Zoom. For months, these adjustments have cluttered our thoughts about how to do what we do. Steven Taylor, in his book, The Psychology of Pandemics: Preparing for the Next Global Outbreak of Infectious Disease, explains that as we focus on staying healthy physically, we often pay less attention than we should to how we are feeling. If you are experiencing distress, I do hope you will take advantage of SilverCloud, a valuable resource we have at UW-Parkside that was recently adopted across the UW System, and that is based on 17 years of clinical research. SilverCloud is a completely confidential internet-based platform that delivers online therapeutic and psycho-education programs.

Various campus meetings and listening sessions give us a sense of how things are going. They also illuminate the tremendous efforts you are making to support our students and each other. I ask for a minute or two of your time to respond to this anonymous, three-question survey. This brief, midterm check-in will help us understand how more of you are doing and whether there are other things we can do to assist. I can’t promise solutions, but I promise we will listen.

Have a good week!

Rob

Rob Ducoffe
Provost & Vice Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs
University of Wisconsin-Parkside
900 Wood Road | Kenosha, WI 53144
262-595-2261 | ducoffe@uwp.edu

Courageous Conversation on Voter Suppression

UW-Parkside, in partnership with the Kenosha Coalition for Dismantling Racism, presents a virtual panel discussion on voter suppression followed by interactive discussions on Monday, Oct 26 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. Information for this event, and more, can be found on the Election Experience event web page. No registration is required, simply visit our website and click the event link contained in the Voter Suppression Guest Speaker box.

Leadership Assembly

Mark your calendars for the October 29th, 2:00 – 3:00 for the first Fall Leadership Assembly and Campus Update. Everyone is invited to this Virtual Meeting to learn more about UW-Parkside’s commitment to Student Success and Partnerships with our Communities. We will also provide updates on the current state of COVID-19 and provide announcements of coming events. Register here.

Four Ways to Make a Difference in the Community

Check out the Ranger Reach Out website to sign up to Fill food boxes at the Shalom Center on November 5th; Give to the UW-Parkside Food Drive; Help Root Pike Win on the Wayne Dannehl Cross Country Course; and Participate in the Annual United Way Campaigns.

“Since Covid-19, we are seeing higher than normal numbers in our Food Pantry. The loss of jobs during these unprecedented times is causing households to utilize food pantries even more to help them stretch their dollars. We are also seeing families who have never visited our pantry before and now have found themselves in need. Donations are always needed, especially this time of year, to ensure we can continue to keep up with the demand. We are thankful for partners like UW Parkside who are assisting us in our efforts to provide nutritional healthy food to our community. Together, we are stronger.”

Tamarra Coleman, Executive Director, Shalom Center, Kenosha

UW-Parkside steps up to help meet this community need and YOU can make a difference in one of four ways:

Donate nonperishable food items. You can drop off nonperishable food in the bins at the entrance of the Student Center, the Rita and the Sports & Activities Center October 26-Nov 6.
Volunteer at the Box Build at the Shalom Center to prepare food boxes on Thursday, November 5, 9-11 AM. Covid safety measures will be in effect. Sign up to volunteer here: https://www.uwp.edu/currentstudent/rangerreachout.cfm
Drop off nonperishable food items on Saturday, Nov 7 at the drive-thru collection at the Sports & Activities Center, 10 AM-2 PM
Support UW-Parkside’s United Way campaign Nov 9-21. Look for a link in your email.

Managing Election Anxiety – here are some great resources from the College and University Personnel Association (CUPA) for dealing with anxiety and stress related to the upcoming election:

How to Deal With Election Anxiety (Psychology Today)
How to Handle the Stress Between Now and Election Day (Healthline)
Already Got Election Anxiety? Here are 4 Ways to Grapple (Psychology Today)
Stressed About the Election? 5 Tips to Get You Through (Cleveland Clinic)

Five Things You Should Know:

Moon Shot for Equity: The University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Carthage College, Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and UWM have joined a national initiative led by education firm EAB aimed at ending equity gaps in higher education by 2030. Read more.

ARU Brave Talk: Round Table Discussion on Election 2020: October 29, 2020 , 5 pm - 6:30 pm, WebEx (Click here to register for this event.) As part of the Election Experience Program Series, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) Always Reaching Upward (ARU) Mentor Program is hosting ARU Brave Talk: Round Table Discussion on Election 2020. Join in on this round table event to discuss the intersections of the upcoming election and important topics for youth in the communities of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Hear from current student leaders in the Always Reaching Upward (ARU) mentoring program, UW-Parkside Alumni, and Dr. Michael Hansen, UW-Parkside Political Science professor. Click here to register for this event.

Community Conversations: Dr. Jonathan Shailor (UW-Parkside), Pastor Kara Baylor (Carthage College), and students in the UW-Parkside Certificate Program in Conflict Analysis and Resolution have been facilitating “Rebuilding Kenosha” conversations since September. There are still three sessions remaining! Talks will be held on October 28, November 11, and December 2. The conversations will be held via ZOOM on Wednesday evenings, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. To register, contact Jonathan Shailor at shailor@uwp.edu.

Don’t Forget to Vote! Courageous Conversation on Voter Suppression: Courageous Conversation – OCT 26 | 7 PM – 8:30 PM. UW-Parkside, in partnership with the Kenosha Coalition for Dismantling Racism, presents a virtual panel discussion on voter suppression followed by interactive discussions on Monday, Oct 26 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. Information for this event, and more, can be found on the Election Experience event web page. No registration is required, simply visit our website and click the event link contained in the Voter Suppression Guest Speaker box.

Happy Halloween: Have fun, stay safe! We hope everyone has a fun and enjoyable Halloween this week! Please remember to be safe and follow our guidelines via our “Prepare. Protect. Prevent.” video: https://vimeo.com/426785767

And as always, make sure to keep an eye on the News page (uwp.edu/news) and on our social media channels for updates!

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