The College will not become a COVID-19 vaccination site. Instead, the College will provide shuttles to vaccination sites in North Adams and Pittsfield for all students, as well as for any faculty or staff without personal transportation.
During spring 2020, despite widespread calls for support from term-limited faculty members, the College declined to offer a blanket extension of all term-limited faculty members’ contracts, citing financial uncertainty. Instead, it provided term-limited faculty members the option to take an unpaid research associate position to aid in the job search. While some term-limited professors were ultimately offered extensions on a case-by-case basis, others were left to face a beleaguered job market.
The College used WiFi data as part of its investigation of the Feb. 26 Wood House party, Dean Sandstrom and Director of CSS Dave Boyer told the Record. Boyer also said that the College has increased CSS patrols in students’ residential spaces following the party.
At a special meeting on Monday, the Select Board unanimously chose Charles T. Blanchard, the retired town manager of Palmer, Mass., to serve as the interim town manager of Williamstown.
The Berkshire Eagle recently obtained a copy of the employee complaint against Williamstown Police Department (WPD) Sergeant Scott McGowan alleging that McGowan, who filed a lawsuit against the Town and WPD in August alleging misconduct, had himself perpetrated sexual and racial harassment. The complaint led the department to place McGowan on paid administrative leave last month.
Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration Matt Sheehy will leave the College to take the position of Chief Financial Officer at Deerfield Academy, a boarding school in Massachusetts, beginning Aug. 1, Vice President for Finance and Administration Fred Puddester announced in the March 31 Daily Messages.
On March 31, Amherst College formalized its commitment to divest its endowment from fossil fuels, joining several other NESCAC institutions, including Middlebury and Wesleyan, in plans to divest.
7:40 p.m. Sawyer Library: Officers responded to the second floor of Special Collections for a glass break alarm from an upper window, but found all windows closed and intact and the panel not in alarm. Dispatch contacted the head of Special Collections and found that the alarm had been activated accidentally.
On March 17, Gov. Baker announced that all Massachusetts residents over the age of 16 will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning on April 19. The College has not yet determined whether it will be able to serve as a vaccination site, but it is in discussion with local health services providers, President Mandel told the Record.
President Mandel announced in a March 22 email that the College will now allow two in-person guests per graduating senior at the 2021 commencement ceremony. This year, “Senior Days” will take place over only a day and a half immediately following final exams — a decision by the administration that prompted push back from many seniors.
Beginning in the 2021-2022 academic year, a department of Asian languages, literatures, and cultures (DALLC) and a program in Asian studies will replace the current Asian studies department. The DALLC will revise versions of the existing Chinese and Japanese majors, as well as offer a new East Asian languages and cultures major.
Due to a recent loss of housing units at Cable Mills, the College has continued to pursue other options for new faculty housing. In a faculty meeting earlier this year, members of the administration mentioned potential changes to the faculty housing lottery, among other suggestions.
