January 2021

The University of Scranton announced its Royals Safe Together Plan for the return of students to campus for the spring 2021 semester. The plan takes into account the latest health and safety recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH). Although the plan includes many of the elements put in place for the fall semester, such as campus-wide COVID-19 surveillance testing, social distancing, mask requirements and cleaning protocols, the spring semester plan requires all graduate and undergraduate students returning to campus to provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken within 72 hours prior to their arrival on campus. Also, following new recommendations from the CDC, the period required for students to be in quarantine will now be 10 days. The University will follow the updated CDC guidelines for COVID testing students while in quarantine.

During the spring semester, the University will be among the Landmark Conference schools participating in winter, fall and spring sports, following the health and safety recommendations of the NCAA Resocialization Guidelines, as well as Landmark Conference Covid-19 Game Day Policies. Spectators are not allowed at competitions at this time. Live streaming of games is available. Additional information regarding team schedules will be posted on the University’s Athletics webpage.

In November, the University announced changes to its academic calendar for the spring semester, which begins on Monday, Feb. 1, and ends on Friday, May 21. The University will not have a spring break; however, two days with no classes were included in the schedule on Tuesday, Mar. 9, and Wednesday, Mar. 24. The University will have an Easter break from Thursday, Apr. 1, to Monday, Apr. 5.

The Royals Safe Together Plan for the spring semester reminds members of the University community of their individual responsibility to follow guidelines to protect the health and well-being of themselves and others. As in the fall semester, face masks and social distancing are required on campus, and personal hygiene practices, and cleaning and disinfecting regimens that were enacted in the fall continue in the spring semester. Special Student Life guidelines for off-campus students will continue, including to limit group gathering size, and the University will continue to address any non-compliance. All students and employees who are on campus will also participate in COVID-19 PCR surveillance testing, which will be conducted on campus throughout the semester beginning the week of Feb. 8. Members of the University community who are on campus will continue to use a daily wellness self-screening application that provides an easy way for them to review symptoms by responding to a series of simple questions as recommended by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Even those who are vaccinated must adhere to the University’s health and safety requirements.

Also in the spring semester, as in the fall, classes will be offered in a variety of formats including: traditional face-to-face formats in classrooms adjusted to meet social distancing recommendations; hybrid formats with students attending in-person classes and remote formats; and classes that are fully remote.

Laboratory classes will also follow social distancing protocols. Undergraduate, graduate and graduate clinical coursework in off-campus locations will be permitted with the cooperation and permission of external partners.  The campus will remain closed to visitors and the general public except by appointment (i.e. admissions visitors, athletics), including the use of the Weinberg Memorial Library.

The Royals Safe Together Plan also addresses cleaning protocols, dining services, Campus Ministries, health services, student life and a number of other critical areas, including contact tracing, and housing arrangements for students requiring isolation or quarantine. The plan also recognizes the need to continue to adapt to changing circumstances.

Decisions regarding Commencement have not yet been made.

The University of Scranton’s Gail and Francis Slattery Center for the Ignatian Humanities will host virtual lectures that will further examine the Catholic Church and American politics and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, the Center for the Ignatian Humanities will host a Zoom webinar with Massimo Faggioli, Ph.D., author of “Joe Biden and Catholicism in the United States” and professor of professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University. Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., president of The University of Scranton, and Therese Ratliff, Ph.D., publisher, Twenty-Third Publications, will moderate the discussion that promises to be an insightful and spirited reflection on the Catholic Church and American politics, as well as on the faith and life of President Biden. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is offered free of charge. Reservations are required to attend and can be made online.

On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the center will host a Humanities in Action Series Zoom event featuring Rev. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., author of “The Ignatian Adventure” and president of Santa Clara University. Debra A. Pellegrino, Ed.D., dean of the University’s Panuska College of Professional Studies, and Rose Sebastianelli, Ph.D., professor of operations and information management at Scranton, will moderate the discussion of how the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius have shaped Father O’Brien’s life and work. The event will give members of the Scranton community unique insight into how the Exercises constitute an unparalleled way to embrace the complexities, joys and challenges of the human experience. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is offered free of charge. Reservations are required to participate and can be made online.

For more information about the virtual events, call 570-941-7401.

The Scranton Reads Committee has released its full list of events happening all month long in February 2021. This year’s Scranton Reads selection Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, tells the powerful story of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington's runaway slave who risked everything to escape the nation's capital and reach freedom.  The Scranton Reads events will offer community members an opportunity to read this celebrated book and to engage with the issues raised in Dunbar’s narrative. 

As a part of the Scranton Reads 2021 events, The University of Scranton will host a virtual youth dialogue for Scranton area middle and high school students on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 3 PM.  This dialogue will offer students an opportunity to come together to discuss Dunbar’s book and to reflect on our nation’s founding ideals and the lived reality of slavery and racism. Parents and guardians can register their students here. 

The University has hosted similar youth dialogues previously, including in 2018 around the graphic novel March, with the Greater Scranton Martin Luther King Commission. The University has organized similar discussions on campus since 2017 as part of an ongoing “Bursting Our Political Bubbles” Dialogue Initiative, which blends the reflective, structured dialogue methods of national non-profit Essential Partners with St. Ignatius of Loyola’s teachings of discernment and reflection. For tips on how to have your own constructive dialogue that involves both listening to and learning from others, click here.

A complete list of Scranton Reads 2021 events and information on this year’s book “Never Caught” by Erica Armstrong Dunbar can be found on the Scranton Reads website: scrantonreads.org. Events will include book discussion groups and a special virtual talk with the author held in collaboration with the Black Scranton Project on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. Those interested in participating in any of these events can register on the Albright Memorial Library’s website, albright.org.

For questions on the Scranton Reads program, contact Jessica Serrenti at jserrenti@albright.org or (570) 795-4315. For information on the youth dialogue, contact the Office of Community Relations at community@scranton.edu.

During the spring semester, the Schemel Forum’s World Affairs Seminars at The University of Scranton will deliver a full spectrum of enlightening presentations on current topics. Eight experts in their fields will bring their insights into the homes of area residents, once again through a Zoom format due to health and safety restrictions caused by the pandemic. Events will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m., except the Feb. 3 seminar. Admission is $10 per seminar, and registered attendees will receive an emailed Zoom link prior to each talk.

The series opens on Wednesday, Feb. 3, with “The Post-Pandemic World: Lessons from Asia,” presented by Parag Khanna, Ph.D., managing partner of FutureMap Pte. Ltd. Likening the coronavirus pandemic to the 14th century Black Death, Dr. Khanna asserts that both have caused a profound worldwide loss of life, significant restructuring of trade patterns, major reordering of geopolitical relations and substantial disruption to our daily lives. Dr. Khanna will map out expectations of the future of global capital flows, infrastructure investments, supply chains, industrial policies, accelerating growth sectors and other major drivers of the new world order. This seminar will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, Feb. 17, Martha S. Jones, J.D., Ph.D., Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, and professor of history and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, will present “Vanguard: How Black Women Overcame Barriers, Won the Vote and Insisted on Equality for All.” Dr. Jones said, “In the standard story, the suffrage crusade began in Seneca Falls in 1848 and ended with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. But this overwhelmingly white women’s movement did not win the vote for most black women. Securing their rights required a movement of their own.” Dr. Jones will discuss the history of African American women’s political lives in America, from the earliest days of the republic to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and beyond.

On Tuesday, March 9, “Next Steps with Russia?” will be presented by Jill Dougherty, formerly CNN’s Moscow Bureau Chief for almost a decade and a frequent participant in the Schemel Forum seminar series. An expert on Russia, she is currently an adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and a CNN on-air contributor. “The new U.S. administration faces a dangerously degraded relationship with Russia,” said Dougherty, who will analyze Russia’s challenge of redefining its relationship with America, without a “reset.”

On Tuesday, March 16, Carla McCabe, president and CEO of WVIA, the regional PBS/NPR affiliate, will present “America: The Farther Shore.” McCabe cited, “‘Believe that a farther shore is reachable from here.’ Those words of Nobel Laureate poet Seamus Heaney were my inspiration for coming to America. I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but here I am in Scranton, honored to lead WVIA. My aim is to ensure that we are embedded in the core of the communities we serve, producing programs that reflect who we are, and at the same time, open our hearts and minds to the world we live in.”

On Wednesday, March 24, “Borges and Me: My Travels in the Highlands of Scotland with a Literary Genius” will be presented by Jay Parini, Axinn Professor of English at Middlebury College in Vermont. Parini, a native of Scranton and recipient of the University’s Distinguished Author Award in 2012, is a poet, novelist and biographer. The author of 30 books, Parini’s The Last Station was made into an Academy Award-nominated film. His most recent book, Borges and Me, is a memoir of a young writer’s unexpected, life-changing encounter with literary genius Jorge Luis Borges, an Argentine poet, essayist and short-story writer whose works became classics of 20th-century literature.

On Friday, April 9, Manisha Sinha, Ph.D., Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut, will present “The Abolitionist International.” Dr. Sinha said, “My talk re-imagines abolition as a radical international movement composed of ordinary men and women, whites and blacks. It shows how the fight to end slavery overlapped with contemporary social movements such as feminism, utopian socialism and pacifism, as well as struggles for rights of labor, immigrants and Native Americans.” Adam Pratt, associate professor of history at the University of Scranton, describes Dr. Sinha as a “first-rate scholar, whose work has forced historians to reconsider long-held ideas about how social and political change happened in the 19th century.”

On Friday, April 16, “A Jesuit Education and Integrative Thinking in Biotechnology (fighting tuberculosis) and Economics (eradicating poverty)” will be presented by Michael Fairbanks, Ph.D., fellow at Harvard University and chairman and founder of Akagera Medicines, a Biotech company based in Boston and San Francisco focused on cures for infectious diseases. “The Scranton tradition of ‘scholarship and service’ is only part of the innovation story,” said Dr. Fairbanks. “Taking the best ideas and tools from one academic domain and applying them to the challenges of another is how real progress occurs.” Dr. Fairbanks has advised two-dozen presidents in Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe on private sector development. Since 2001, he has been a senior advisor to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and his company, Akagera Medicines, is a public-private partnership between the people of Rwanda and scientists who are focused on solutions to infectious diseases.

The series will conclude on a to-be-determined date with “Consciousness: Life Transitions and the Importance of Story – Continued,” presented by Harmar Brereton, M.D. A former Scranton-area physician and one of the founders of the Schemel Forum, Dr. Brereton will follow up his fall semester seminar on life transitions with references to cave paintings, Homer, Sophocles, Jung, Tennyson, Shakespeare and Erik Erikson.

The World Affairs Seminar series is sponsored by Munley Law.

To register for the seminars, contact Alicen Morrison, Schemel Forum assistant, at 570-941-6206 or alicen.morrison@scranton.edu. And, for more information on Schemel Forum programs and memberships, contact Sondra Myers, Schemel Forum director, at 570-941-4089 or sondra.myers@scranton.edu.

The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is teaming up with the City of Scranton to hold First Step: Scranton, a training event for individuals who are interested in starting a business in the City of Scranton. The training will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, Jan. 20, from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m.

The City of Scranton Office of Economic and Community Development (OECD) will provide information about their mission and an overview of the programs they have to offer for small businesses. The SBDC will talk about their programs and services, and will also present information about applications and licenses needed to start a business, different types of business structure, business plan development, and what to expect in financing. Emphasis on the licenses and registrations in the City of Scranton will be shared. 

“At the start of a New Year, many people resolve to finally start the business they’ve been dreaming of,” said Lisa Hall Zielinski, director of The University of Scranton SBDC. “We are teaming up with the City of Scranton to offer the direction and guidance people need to make those dreams a reality and add more small businesses to the city.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to partner with the SBDC to help prospective business owners launch a business in the city,” said Eileen Cipriani, executive director of the OECD. “Our goal is to provide the resources and guidance needed to streamline the start-up process. To meet that goal, Mayor Cognetti has combined Licensing, Inspections and Permits with City Planning and the Office of Economic and Community Development to place all the departments under one umbrella, the new Office of Community Development.”

Advance registration is required and can be made by visiting www.scrantonsbdc.com and viewing Upcoming Classes. For more information, contact The University of Scranton SBDC at sbdc@scranton.edu or 570-941-7588. 

Scranton’s SBDC, housed in the University’s Kania School of Management, serves eight counties in Northeastern and Northern Tier Pennsylvania.

SBDCs are hosted by leading universities, colleges, state economic development agencies and private partners, and funded in part by the United States Congress through a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration. There are nearly 1,000 local centers available to provide no-cost business consulting and low-cost training to new and existing businesses.

The Office of Economic and Community Development (OECD), a self-sufficient department, acts as the grants administration arm of the City of Scranton. OECD identifies grant programs that could provide sources of support for a variety of community and economic development initiatives and aggressively pursue these funds. Employees are responsible for administering these grants, taking care to allocate funds to activities that best address important community and economic development needs and ensuring compliance with their regulations.

University of Scranton President Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., sent the following Statement on National Unity to members of The University of Scranton community.

Dear Members of the University Community,

As I am sure is true for you, I watched in horror the incidents that took place in the United States Capitol Building yesterday. This afternoon, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities issued a statement that I have signed on behalf of the University. What follows is a more personal reflection.

The Capitol Building has always had a deep and abiding sense of sacredness. It is a feeling I remember fondly while interning for my congressman during my early years of college. Years later, I remember touring my niece and nephew through the building and being moved to tears by the importance of this hallowed space and the role it would play in their future

I was reminded also of the deep roots that The University of Scranton family has in the Washington, D.C., area. In a special way, I prayed for the safety and wellbeing of alumni, parents and friends working in the Capitol.

Yesterday’s violation and desecration is a blow to us all both substantially and symbolically. It must be condemned in the strongest terms.

Our nation is in the midst of one of the most divisive times in its history. As a university, we are no stranger to dialogue and disagreement, but we do so with respect. As a Catholic and Jesuit university, we also advocate for justice and the common good, especially in times of great trial.

In the weeks and months ahead, I pray that we move forward as one nation discerning through civil discourse the answers to the substantive challenges we face.

May God Bless the United States of America.

Sincerely,

Scott R. Pilarz, S.J.

President

Over nine months into a global pandemic, food insecurity continues to soar for local families and restaurant revenue is declining due to COVID-19 protocols. With these increasing needs and challenges organizers of the Electric City Connection are once again seeking community support.

The Electric City Connection project, a collaboration led by The University of Scranton, Scranton Tomorrow, and Friends of the Poor, was launched at the onset of the pandemic with the goal of offering immediate food access to area residents in need and to help provide incoming funds to local restaurants experiencing economic setbacks due to COVID-19.

As we head into the winter months, this project is seeking additional donations of $15 per meal to help area residents and support local Scranton restaurants, both feeling the economic impacts of COVID-19. Contributions can be made through Scranton Tomorrow. To make a contribution, visit scrantontomorrow.org and click on Electric City Connection. Since re-launching the program in December, contributions have totaled more than $6,000.  

Originally launched at the end of March 2020, the program received an immediate outpouring of support from generous donors, demonstrating the power of grassroots efforts to address community issues. Over 460 donors contributed funds used directly to purchase gift cards to local Scranton restaurant partners. These gift cards were then distributed by the Friends of the Poor Scranton to area residents facing food insecurity, many of whom were first time recipients of assistance.

“We are seeing a great and ongoing need in the area. Many people are first time recipients of food assistance, truly showing the economic struggles in the face of the pandemic,” Sr. Ann remarked. “Thankfully there is also a great deal of generosity and support to help fill our community needs. The Electric City Connection is a great program to mutually sustain both our local restaurant businesses, and also to provide food assistance to the individuals and families in our community during this challenging time.” 

As the pandemic endured throughout the summer, so did the need to both support local restaurant businesses that were not able to open to full capacity and to continue to provide meals to our neighbors in need. The work of the Electric City Connection project was able to continue over the summer thanks to a generous $20,000 grant from Scranton Area Community Foundation to continue its work throughout the summer and add to the generous community member donations.

This additional support from the Scranton Area Community Foundation grant helped the project’s efforts to provide over 3,000 meals to community members, including gift card distributions, as well as an expansion of the program to include senior citizens and residents with disabilities living in Downtown Scranton high rises. Residents in these Downtown Scranton highrises we provided with meals coordinated through local restaurant partners. Many of these residents are in the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly and people with disabilities. 

To learn more about The University of Scranton, visit scranton.edu, for more information on Scranton Tomorrow and to make a contribution please visit www.scrantontomorrow.org,and for more information about Friends of the Poor, visit fotp-ihm.org. For questions about The Electric City Connection, contact The University of Scranton Community Relations Office via email at community@scranton.edu or by calling 570-941-5529.

Through multiple community-based learning projects offered in courses during the fall semester, University of Scranton students partnered with area organizations to bring their class work to life virtually with real-world initiatives and activities. In the fall of 2020, students worked remotely with the City of Scranton, the Scranton Area Community Foundation and United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

“Community-based learning projects provide opportunities for learning outside of the classroom and bring what students are exploring in their academic course into an external, local context through addressing community-defined needs. They can apply their skills and, most importantly, learn from community agencies long at work addressing such issues as diversity and inclusion, public health, philanthropy, and community and economic revitalization,” said Julie Schumacher Cohen, assistant vice president for community engagement and government affairs and chair of the Community-Based Learning Board at the University.

In the fall semester, community-based learning projects in two courses partnered with the City of Scranton. Students a doctoral course in nursing, Advanced Health Care Policy, taught by Margarete Leib Zalon, Ph.D., professor of nursing, worked with the City of Scranton to help them explore different public health priorities. John J. Strain III, faculty specialist of communication and media, linked his Art of the Pitch course to a community-based learning project for the City of Scranton’s new “Work From Here” initiative. Students in the course researched and developed marketing strategies that they “pitched” to the City of Scranton for the campaign. Read more about these projects here.

Students in a Spanish language-based course, Service and the Hispanic Community, taught by Roxana Curiel, Ph.D., assistant professor of world languages and cultures, undertook a community-based learning project with United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania to spotlight businesses in Scranton neighborhoods owned and operated by individuals from a range of Latin American countries. The business profiles, provided in both English and Spanish, can be viewed on the Welcoming Scranton Facebook page. Read more about the project here.

Students in a social media communication class taught by Brian J. Snee, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication and media, gained real-world experience on a community-based learning project partnering with the Scranton Area Community Foundation. Read more here.

In 2017, the University launched the Office of Community-Based Learning, headed by Meghan Ashlin Rich, Ph.D., professor of sociology/criminal justice and women’s studies, aimed at further supporting faculty conducting community-based learning courses and strengthening the ways in which the campus engages with the hopes, concerns, challenges and opportunities facing Northeastern Pennsylvania.