President’s Newsletter — October 2020

Three Rivers President

Dear Colleagues,

The semester is moving along quickly, and it is hard to believe October is over. I want to thank all of you for making things run so smoothly. There is nothing normal about this year, and balancing a remote learning and working environment has not been easy, but we are doing it and doing it well.

With the advent of colder weather and the arrival of flu season, it is more important than ever to wear our masks, socially distance, be vigilant about washing our hands, and get a flu shot. These preventative measures are the best strategy for slowing the uptick of Covid-19 cases in our area.

With the pandemic, the holidays will be different this year. As Thanksgiving approaches, consider giving to local food banks and pantries as many of our students and neighbors could use support.

Finally, don’t forget to turn back the clock this Sunday!

 

Best wishes,

Mary Ellen

All-College Meeting Focuses on Enrollment and Marketing

The All-College Meeting held virtually on October 21 is now available online. In addition to covering the College updates, this meeting focused on marketing, enrollment and admissions efforts for the Fall 2020 semester.

During the presentation, Alexa Shelton reviewed the marketing plan instituted for the Fall 2020 semester, Patrick Keller explained enrollment trends by looking closely at the data, and Jonathan Lamiotte covered the numerous admissions events and applications submitted in Admissions. Kevin Kelly explained that registration started strong and trailed off despite outreach by financial aid, as well as emails, a phone call campaign, and more. Jodi Osborn shared the massive amount of virtual advising meetings that took place from March through September (7,206!) as well as the need for faculty advisors to assist with registration for the spring.

Advising Days has gone Virtual!

Advising Days has become a virtual event. Students can preregister for a 20-minute virtual session that will be held on Monday, November 2 or Tuesday, November 3.

They’ll have the opportunity to speak with an advisor and register for Spring classes early. To learn more about the event or register for a session, visit this page. 

 

Advising at TRCC

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FOUNDATION NEWS

The TRC Foundation recognized the need and has committed $250,000 to expand our current scholarship offerings to support students in the winter and spring semesters, which compliments the current Summer and Fall program.

The Foundation received $109,000 from Dominion Nuclear for their on-going support of the Nuclear Engineering Technology Program at Three Rivers. The scholarship application is now available at www.threerivers/dominion for 2021-2022

nuclear engineering students

Many thanks to TRCC faculty and staff who have collectively raised over $10,000 to date to support the Annual Appeal.  We look forward to the day when we can share the hallways of TRCC again. Will you join us in giving a gift to support the Foundation’s work? www.threerivers.edu/giving.

Covid-19 Reporting Form

There is now an easy to use webpage and form for help and for reporting Covid-19 cases, the TRCC Covid-19 Notification Site and E-Form for Staff, Faculty and Students.

The form walks you through the steps if you feel sick and what to do whether you are submitting on behalf of yourself or someone else (like a student in your class). It takes and reports contact information, dates that the person was on campus as well as what parts of campus and sends it all to TRCC’s Covid-19 Coordinator, Steve Goetchius. All information is confidential.

Winter Session Registration Opened Early

Registration was opened early for the Winter Session on Monday, October 26. This allowed TRCC to compete with other Colleges whose enrollment opens in October. Winter Session classes run from Tuesday, December 29 to Tuesday, January 19, enabling students to earn 3-4 credits in just three weeks.

Most of the courses are offered completely online, enabling students to take classes from the comfort of home. Classes cover a broad variety of subjects and fulfill general education requirements. They range from U.S. History to Principles of Sociology to Architecture of the World and more. For a complete list of offerings, visit threerivers.edu/winter.

Winter at Three Rivers

Bird and Bat Boxes Installed on Campus

Thanks to the hard work and perseverance of Environmental Engineering Technology Professor Diba Khan-Bureau and her students, bird and bat houses were installed around the Three Rivers Campus earlier this month.

This positive step for biodiversity and conservation was possible thanks to the group effort of the City of Norwich’s planning and zoning officials, the city engineer, the leadership and facilities at Three Rivers and the Community Foundation of Eastern CT.

There are more bird and bat houses to come, so keep an eye out for them.

Professor Jim Sherrard Featured as a Program Accreditor

Professor Sherrard was pictured in the latest ABET Newsletter as one of their expert Program Evaluators.

ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental agency that accredits programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. The agency accreditation provides assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards of the profession for which that program prepares graduates.

Great job, Professor Sherrard!

TRCC Nuclear ProfessorJim Sherrard

Save the Date:

11/2-3 – Advising Days

11/26-25 – Thanksgiving Recess – no classes

12/15 – Last Day of Classes

In the Gallery

David Fontaine, "Statue Study", Prisma color on toned paper, 20" x 30"

David Fontaine, “Statue Study”,
Prisma color on toned paper, 20″ x 30″ Fontaine’s piece is part of the previous show, the Visual Fine Arts Program Graduate Exhibition.

Faculty and Staff Virtual Exhibition Coming November 9

On November 9, the Faculty and Staff Virtual Exhibition will be live on the gallery webpage. It will feature up to 3 pieces each from faculty and staff members and will run through December 26, 2020.