August 16, 2021
Dear William Paterson Faculty and Staff,
I had the pleasure of speaking to many of our new students and family members at two of last week’s orientation sessions in the Shea Center. It was wonderful to see everyone in person and, though we are observing masking protocols for large indoor gatherings on campus, no face covering could hide the excitement and anticipation on the students’ faces and pride on the part of their families. I want to thank everyone in Student Development and Academic Affairs who had a hand in organizing the orientation events, which wrap up today, including our fantastic students, who are such fine WP ambassadors.
Another great sight was last week’s return of members of the football team, which began practicing for the upcoming season on Wightman field. I know our student-athletes have missed competing in front of their home fans as much as we have missed being able to gather and cheer them on, so I look forward to us all donning our orange and black and going out to support all our Pioneer Athletics teams.
As welcome as these developments are for our full return to campus, we must be mindful of the continued need to protect ourselves and each other during the pandemic. As the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 continues to drive increases in cases nationally, public health experts say that increasing vaccinations is the top priority. As you know, our decision to require students, faculty, and many staff groups to get vaccinated was made in anticipation of the current delta surge. As of Sunday, 90% of faculty and staff and 87% of students have received at least one dose of vaccine or are exempted. This Wednesday, August 18th is the last date for students not vaccinated to do so for the start of the semester. Please be mindful that those students who are registered for fall classes, but who have not started the vaccination process will have their course schedules dropped. As always, you can locate vaccination sites here. Anyone who is required to be vaccinated but isn’t by next week will not be able to begin the semester as a full member of the WP community.
This week’s WP: We are Proud – Congratulations to all the students, faculty, and staff affiliated with WPSC-FM, Brave New Radio, which was recently announced as a finalist for the prestigious National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Marconi Radio Award, under the category College Radio Station of the Year. Dubbed the "Oscars" of radio, the biggest stations and names in the radio industry all compete for this national recognition. This is WP’s 4th Marconi Radio Award nomination, including a 2018 win in the Non-Commercial Station of the Year category.
This year’s nomination comes thanks, in large part, to the station’s February 2020 work for World Radio Day, when it programmed a live radio event from the Guglielmo Marconi Museum in Bologna, Italy; inspired the launch of a community radio station in Bologna that helps radio lovers with autism find their voice; and continued to broadcast important information regarding the COVID pandemic to our community. Other nominees are Montclair State University, Rider University, Seton Hall University, and Hofstra University. The winner will be announced on October 13th at the NAB's 2021 Radio Show in Las Vegas.
Thank you all for your continued good work as we prepare for the return of our students and the start of the fall semester, next week. I hope you made the most of Summer Fridays. As a reminder, we return this week to a regular, Monday-Friday work week. Make it a great one!
