CoffeeBreak is an e-newsletter distributed to Averett faculty and staff to keep them up-to-date on campus activities and information. Please send information you would like included in CoffeeBreak via this form. For the next CoffeeBreak, please submit by Friday, Aug. 28, for a Wednesday, Sept. 2, publication.
COVID-19 Dashboard
In an effort to keep our campus informed, we have developed a COVID-19 dashboard that will soon live on our COVID-19 Alert webpage. Here is the preliminary dashboard that includes student-only information as of this morning, and future dashboards will include employee information, as well. For questions, contact Lesley Villarose at [email protected] or Kathie Tune at [email protected].
Employee Daily Health Self-Check
Every employee should complete the quick health self-check each day by clicking here. If you receive a green check, you are cleared to work on campus. If you receive the red X, please notify your supervisor or division chair immediately and forward the email you receive from LiveSafe to your supervisor or division chair. You should not report for in-person work if you receive the red X.
We continue to work closely with LiveSafe to get the final settings worked out, but in the meantime, all employees should use the following link INSTEAD of the LiveSafe app on their mobile device. Using this link instead of the app will ensure that your information will be filtered through the employee portal and not the student portal.
We will continue to communicate any changes with this process moving forward, and appreciate your participation. Contact Kathie Tune for questions.
Reminder: Face Covering Updates
Since the publication of the “One Averett, Together Again” Fall 2020 Plan for Reopening, excellent questions about face coverings have been raised. This email is intended to provide additional specificity to the University’s expectations regarding face coverings.
Our protocol (pages 6-7 of “One Averett, Together Again”) includes the following:
Face Coverings
Averett University adheres to CDC guidelines regarding the appropriate use of face coverings throughout each of its campus locations by students, faculty, staff, volunteers and visitors. Face coverings, when properly worn, are meant to protect other people in case the wearer is unknowingly infected but does not have symptoms. Specific information will be provided to all students, faculty, staff, volunteers and visitors on face covering expectations, proper use and removal, and when face coverings may not be worn.
Face coverings are not a replacement for self-assessment, physical distancing and increased hygiene measures. Widespread use of face coverings among the Averett community, in conjunction with other protective measures, is designed to lessen the risk of community transmission of COVID-19. Even for those individuals who may not be concerned about community transmission, widespread use of face coverings could help to alleviate anxiety of others in the Averett community.
The University expects all students, employees and visitors to exercise personal responsibility and common sense to keep the community safe in all circumstances. Averett believes bystander and peer intervention is an effective strategy to help our community to remain mindful about wearing face coverings. We encourage community members to calmly suggest a face covering be worn if someone is not wearing one in a public, shared space (always assess your own safety first). One could start by asking the person if they have a face covering with them. If they don’t, remind them that they can obtain a face covering from the University. With face coverings, it helps to point out that one properly wears a face covering to protect other people and that COVID-19 can be transmitted when someone is not demonstrating any symptoms of infection.
Our primary focus is on promoting awareness of the reasons for face coverings in order to encourage personal responsibility and compliance with Averett’s face covering expectations for the sake of protecting oneself and others.
Subsequently, more specific questions have been raised about the type and quality of face coverings. To that end, it is important that we discern what are acceptable face coverings on our campus. All face coverings, whether disposable or reusable, must
• be made with at least two layers of breathable material;
• fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin;
• fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face; and
• be secured with ties or ear loops, allowing one to remain hands-free.
Based on the most recent guidance of health authorities, the following are not acceptable face coverings: open-chin triangle bandanas, and face coverings containing valves, mesh material or holes of any kind (there is also new research and debate suggesting that single-layer gaiters are not safe and the COVID-19 Campus Team will be monitoring this research).
We have also been asked about the use and efficacy of face shields to replace face coverings. The CDC offers this information:
It is not known if face shields provide any benefit as source control to protect others from the spray of respiratory particles. CDC does not recommend use of face shields for normal everyday activities or as a substitute for cloth face coverings. Some people may choose to use a face shield when sustained close contact with other people is expected. If face shields are used without a mask, they should wrap around the sides of the wearer’s face and extend to below the chin. Disposable face shields should only be worn for a single use. Reusable face shields should be cleaned and disinfected after each use.
Therefore, unless a face shield is coupled with a face mask, it is not considered an acceptable masking practice on our campus. The only exception is for faculty in classes and speakers at events where there is at least 10 feet between the speaker and students/audience, and this exception is to allow the listener to better hear and discern facial expressions for understanding of teaching and extended messages. The only other exception to wear a face shield without a mask is for those who require a medical exemption with proper documentation.
Health Triage Line
If students feel unwell at any point during the semester, please encourage them to call the Health Triage Line at (434) 203-3781. The triage line is for non-emergency cases only. If a student has a medical emergency, please have them call 911 or Residence Life on Call at (434) 203-7245.
Health Triage Line hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
When a student calls the triage line, we will help them schedule an appointment with a doctor, find transportation to the health clinic or hospital and coordinate with their professors if they need to miss class.
If any students are exhibiting signs and symptoms of COVID-19, please have them call the Health Triage Line immediately!
For more information about our health services on campus, please contact the Dean of Students Office at (434) 791-5620.
Return to Campus Q&A via Zoom Every Thursday
Join Kathie Tune, director of HR, for a question and answer virtual meeting each Thursday from 10-11:30 a.m. if you need clarification on what to do before returning to work, what to do while at work and what to do if you need to leave work. The virtual meetings will continue indefinitely.
Email [email protected] if you need information outside of the Zoom meeting.
Click here to join the Campus Q&A Zoom Meeting
If you would like to dial in by using your phone please email [email protected] from your Averett assigned email account and the password for access will be sent directly to your Averett email address within 24 hours.
Funeral Held Monday for Dr. Elizabeth Compton
Longtime Averett champion, Dr. Mary Elizabeth “Boo” Compton, was buried Monday, Aug. 24, after passing away Thursday, Aug. 20. She was 86. A video of her service can be viewed by clicking here.
Dr. Compton joined Averett in 1968 as a professor in the college’s education department. She was instrumental in launching Averett’s elementary education program in 1969 and as coordinator of graduate studies, the master of education degree in 1982. In 1989, she was appointed as dean of arts and sciences. As dean, Dr. Compton took the lead in establishing Averett’s Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) program for first year students – which continues to this day. In 1997, she was appointed Averett’s Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
She was a true educator in every sense of the word and her legacy will live on in the thousands of lives she touched. She will be dearly missed.
Hear Best-Selling Author Ron Rash at Averett
Averett University’s CCECC welcomes you to Frith Fine Arts Center on Friday, Sept. 11, to hear best-selling author Ron Rash discuss his book “Saints at the River.” Individualized refreshments will be available in the lobby at 5:30 p.m., and the event starts promptly at 6 p.m. We will adhere to social-distancing guidelines. Rash’s novel is the winner of the Weatherford Award for Best Novel.
Please reserve your spot by registering here.
When a twelve-year-old girl drowns in the Tamassee River and her body is trapped in a deep eddy, the people of the small South Carolina town that bears the river’s name are thrown into the national spotlight. The girl’s parents want to attempt a rescue of the body; environmentalists are convinced the rescue operation will cause permanent damage to the river and set a dangerous precedent. Torn between the two sides is Maggie Glenn, a twenty-eight-year-old newspaper photographer who grew up in the town and has been sent to document the incident. Since leaving home almost ten years ago, Maggie has done her best to avoid her father, but now, as the town’s conflict opens old wounds, she finds herself revisiting the past she’s fought so hard to leave behind. Meanwhile, the reporter who’s accompanied her to cover the story turns out to have a painful past of his own, and one that might stand in the way of their romance.
Drawing on the same lyrical prose and strong sense of place that distinguished his award-winning first novel, “One Foot in Eden,” Ron Rash has written a book about the deepest human themes: the love of the land, the hold of the dead on the living, and the need to dive beneath the surface to arrive at a deeper truth. Saints at the River confirms the arrival of one of today’s most gifted storytellers.
2020 Danville-Pittsylvania Heart Walk
Join us virtually for the Danville-Pittsylvania Heart Walk! Hike, bike or walk where you are and share your photos on Facebook Live.
Averett University is once again a proud sponsor of the Danville-Pittsylvania Heart Walk set for Saturday, Sept. 19. Festivities begin at 9:30 a.m., and the walk will begin at 10 a.m.
Know that you will be saving lives in the community and making a difference if you join one of the Averett University Heart Walk teams: Team Ave or Team Rett.
For more information, visit www.DanvilleHeartWalk.org.
Counseling Services Updates
As we begin classes, many students may be experiencing various mental health struggles coming into this academic year. Please know that the counseling center is here to support faculty and staff with student referrals for services.
Jessie Henderson M.A., NCC, Resident in Counseling, is our current Interim Counseling Center Director. She is providing mental health counseling for students in-person (with masks and social distancing in place) and online for the fall semester. Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any concerns or questions. Please share this information with your students!
Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) Program Marketing Launch
The Averett University Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (ABSN) is a transition program specifically for people with a minimum of 60 non-nursing college credits who wish to become registered nurses. The transferring of credits and accelerated courses allow students to earn their BSN in as few as 16 months.
The program prepares students for the nursing field with a combination of nursing theory courses (delivered online), skills and simulation labs, as well as clinical rotations at top hospitals and health care facilities in the Norfolk area.
The ABSN learning site will be located in Norfolk. The program will begin with its first group of students in May 2021. Course offerings will be available for the following August, and will continue to be offered during the months of January, May and August. Prerequisite general education courses must be completed before students can be formally admitted into the program and begin the nursing track. We could see students taking prerequisite general education courses at Averett as early as October 2020.
Our people are our BEST recruiters. Refer interested students to the director of ABSN recruitment, Ronda Toll, at [email protected].