Countdown to Classes 2019

Day 1

It’s here! You’re driving, moving in, settling. We’re loving seeing the cars coming up the Hill. We’re glad the semester is finally going to begin.

The new spaces are being built in response to student requests for new, non-residential spaces for parties. There is also interest in new spaces where we can re-imagine and expand the definitions of our current social culture. The building design, with four large rooms around an open-air patio, should be a great space for fun things to happen.

The Grand Opening will be in October. On the evening of September 26, we’ll offer tours of the space for anyone who’d like a sneak peak. Sign up here to get updates, to join the tour, and to participate in the final decisions about outfitting the space. We’d love your input!

As we move toward the Grand Opening, we’ll also need a name! Contest details are coming soon, and the Grand Prize will be very good.

In the meantime… social spaces like Lamson, Sunset Lodge, and Chambo can be reserved for larger events. Residential spaces are for small gatherings only. The details of party registration are here. Students liked the “sail tents” we put up on East Quad last year, so they’re back this year, with one in the Sunnies too. It’s great to be outside with friends on a crisp fall night.

There’s a lot to look forward to this year, and we’re all excited to get underway. We’re glad you’re back and we wish you well as classes start tomorrow.

Day 2

Two days to go. Hope you’re feeling the magnetic pull of the campus. We’re excited for your arrival.

Student Development has welcomed many new staff over the summer, and we hope you’ll get to meet them this fall. Learn about new staff in Residential Communities, Conflict Resolution, Academic Resource Center, the Knowlton Center and CLIC here.

One of those new staff should be a familiar face—Trinidy Jeter ‘04. For the last two years, Trinidy has served as the Assistant Director of the Community Leadership & Involvement Center (CLIC), providing support to student organizations, overseeing major campus programs, and advising UPC.

We’re thrilled to announce that Trinidy has been promoted to a new role this summer, Director of Multicultural Student Affairs and Assistant Dean of Students, where she will be supporting students and leading programs, like the Paving the Way pre-orientation that happened last week.

Day 3

Between the arts and athletics, films and guest speakers, and many special events, Denison brings a big-university presence to our small town of Granville. It’s right here and available to you and frankly… that’s amazing.

If you haven’t explored these events before, you may not know where to start. So in this message: Six Events in Six Weeks! Six upcoming events that may open “ways of seeing the world, or some part of it, in an entirely new way” (hat-tip to President Weinberg’s message from a few weeks back).

Want to see the full array of options? Check out the customizable calendar feature that shows everything that’s happening.

Meanwhile, prepare to be intrigued, inspired, and invigorated.

September 13: “The Neuroscience of Surviving America”
The Laura C. Harris series this year kicks off at the Eisner Center with Uzo Nwankpa performing ‘The Neuroscience of Surviving America.’ Nwankpa is a community health registered nurse, teacher, storyteller, dancer, and founder of the Uzo Method Project which explores the use of alternative healing modalities as a public health solution to increase wellness across communities.
September 18-20: ReMix, the Denison Entrepreneurship Summit
ReMix is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for students to learn from and connect with entrepreneurial, innovative, and visionary alums. Check out the ReMix ReCap from last year. The full schedule is available here, and registration is now open!
September 26, Flavors of the Globe International Potluck
Denison is a global community. The Flavors of the Globe International Potluck Lunch provides students, faculty and staff a chance to sample several different regional dishes and connect with others who have visited or share an interest in that part of the world.
October 3: Vail Series Concert with Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer with Rakesh Chaurasia
The Vail Series is an extraordinary opportunity to hear world-class performers. The series kicks off this year with Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer with Rakesh Chaurasia. Come be inspired and mesmerized by these world-class masters of the banjo, the bass fiddle and the tabla. [Treat yourself to 3 minutes of great listening, here!].
October 5: Gala
A favorite fall tradition is our annual Gala—a night like no other, full of glamour, dancing, food, and fun! No need to mask your excitement, this year’s theme will create a night to remember!
October 12, Day of Mindfulness
Here is a student-designed day of workshops, student-led performances, and celebration. By learning how to be mindfully aware, as a community, we can lower stress and anxiety while increasing ease, joy, focus, self-compassion and resilience through a community based practice of celebration and understanding. Everyone is welcome! More info is on the website.

Day 4

Four days to go! Today, we want to make sure you know about resources available in support of your financial wellbeing.

A few years ago we engaged students in conversations about financial stressors they were facing. This led to a financial well-being report and to campus conversations about how we could lower barriers. For example, students talked about the challenges posed by unpaid internships, and in response, the Knowlton Center significantly increased its financial support for internships, providing more than $1.3m in stipends over the last three years.

Here are other resources available on campus:

Financial Wellness Coach: Thinking about money can be scary! To help students strengthen money management strategies and to promote awareness of resources for financial assistance, Samantha Smith provides financial wellness coaching. Sam is available to meet with students 1-1 or can come to your event or student org to talk about financial topics like saving, building credit, and navigating loans. You can find her in Slayter 406 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Red Thread Grants: The Red Thread Fund provides small grants to students in case of significant financial hardship. Information about this and other funding sources can be found on MyDenison.
Campus Food Pantry: The Alford Community Leadership & Involvement Center will continue to run its Food Pantry this Fall, open Tuesdays from 6-8pm in Higley 014 (ground floor).

Read about all these initiatives.

Day 5

Tomorrow, Sunday, is a big day, as we welcome first-year and transfer students to campus. We’re thinking of you—the drive up the Hill in the stuffed car, the unloading, the unpacking, the meeting, the greeting.

We’re so excited to meet you!

And then, a short three days later, the wonderfully chaotic days when everyone else returns and we’re at full capacity. We’re so ready for you to be back!

And also… We want EVERYONE to be safe, to be considerate of one another’s wellbeing, and to know what’s what, policy-wise.

So this message provides links to Denison policies that are binding for all members of our campus community. That means that you need to be familiar with these policies and to know your responsibilities, as well as your rights. I invite your questions, and the staff and faculty of the college welcome opportunities to talk about Denison policies in classes, organizations, residence hall groups, and wherever else you’d like.

The Policy on Sex Discrimination, Including Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Stalking and Retaliation explains our expectation that intimate interactions are between consenting people, as well as other aspects of sexual respect. The policy is informed by input from members of our campus community, by federal and state guidelines, and by what we consider to be best practices emerging throughout higher education.

The Code of Student Conduct explains your rights and responsibilities relative to university expectations. Four basic expectations guide the Code: Take care of each other, treat each other respectfully, take care of this place, and act with integrity in classes and in your social life.

The Code of Academic Integrity explains Denison’s standards of academic conduct and the procedures for addressing academic misconduct.

The Student Handbook is a single point of information on All Things Denison. It has all the policies you need to know (in addition to those mentioned above), information about offices you might need, and services you might want to access. It’s not exciting, but it’s very handy.

We also want you to know that MyDenison is chock-full of interesting information, besides being your direct access to the health portal, Notebowl, your financial aid information, and employment opportunities.

We mentioned the Housing Master Plan and Major Construction Updates yesterday.
The “Campus Climate Watch” on MyDenison (Campus Resources tab, “Campus Life”) provides reports and data related to incidents that may influence the social climate of the campus.
Student Development makes data and research reports available.
Information on finding financial resources that extend beyond regular financial aid.

There’s more in MyDenison than we can begin to say. Please let your curiosity run wild!

Travel safely! See you soon.

Day 6

Today, we’re excited to introduce Dustin Brentlinger, who joined Denison three weeks ago as the Polk Family Executive Director of Student Health & Wellness, overseeing Health & Counseling, Wellness Education, and Religious & Spiritual Life. (Read more about Dustin!) In this national search, Dustin stood among the pool for many reasons, but we’ll share our top three:

Dustin is committed to students, to finding ways to improve their experience, and to helping them build lifelong strategies to prioritize their wellness.
He has vast experience in supporting student wellness and student success and in helping campuses build a culture of wellness well beyond the walls of a wellness center.
He is bringing new ideas and strategies for expanding holistic wellness, from improved communication to new programming to changes in the “built environment” that support campus wellness.

Here are things to watch for in the next few weeks:

New staff counselors will be introduced to students in the next few weeks as they come on-board.
Monthly wellness newsletter (watch your email) and bi-monthly bulletins of upcoming events will start appearing on campus. These will include announcements of resources and opportunities.
Re-designed Wellness Website: We spent time this summer talking to students about the information they’d like to access on the wellness website. We’re incorporating their feedback, and the refreshed site will launch shortly!
New programs, including Sunday afternoon Urban Zen sessions (restorative yoga poses, Reiki, breath practices, and guided meditation), a Wellness Challenge (a team-based, six-week program in which students can win prizes for engaging in wellness practices), and workshops available to individual students, organizations, residence hall floors, etc.
“Shed Some Light on Senior Year”: Designed especially for seniors, a series featuring topics like menu planning on a budget, cooking skills, mindfulness and yoga.
Thriving Campus: Counseling Services has partnered with ThrivingCampus, an online referral resource designed to help college counseling centers connect students with local mental health providers. The online tool allows students to search the provider list by distance, practice areas, and accepted insurance.
Complementary Therapies: Based on student feedback during De-Stress Fests, the Student Wellness Center will regularly offer a number of services, like massage therapy, AromaTouch and Reiki, in support of stress reduction, beginning mid-September. Watch the newsletter for more information.

For more information about any of these initiatives, contact Heather Borland, Denison’s Wellness Educator (borlandh@denison.edu).

Day 7

Hey! Seven days from today, there you’ll be, sitting in your first classes of the new school year! We hope you’re feeling the thrill of anticipation.

For each day between now and then, we’ll send you a short message with updates from the summer or a preview of things to come! We’re excited for a great year, and we hope you are too.

Today, something especially fun—the myriad places on campus that we hope will surprise and delight you when you’re back.

We considered showing you all the updates. We did. But then… we just didn’t want to rob you of the chance to see all the newness firsthand.

So. Here are some tiny glimpses of a few of the updates that await you when you return, some with a clue to location.

Perplexed? Seeking more clues? Check out the Housing Master Plan MyDenison page for updates on residence hall renovations. MyDenison also has updates on major campus projects, and this summer an announcement about Silverstein Hall was published.