April 7, 2023
Summary
Let me start by saying that your Acting Out Dean very much appreciates all the responses she receives to her Friday messages. I like the compliments, I like the comments and most of all, I like the questions: for example, what is a soft-play center? It saddens me that some of you have not had occasion to visit one of these. I would like to enlighten you briefly about what happens at a soft play center, before moving on to discussion of Montessori day care centers for dogs. At a soft play center, children do everything they would do in an outdoor playground, but all the equipment is soft. There are soft slides, soft climbing walls, soft obstacle courses, and my personal favorite, ball pits, where you sit in a soft box filled with soft balls and play extremely softly. In my research, I have discovered that soft play centres are helpful in a number of ways. They allow children to play freely, they are safe (so soft!!!), they are social, they encourage creativity, you can play in them even when it’s raining because they are usually indoors (soft and wet – not a great combination), and one psychologist notes that they are “exercise in disguise.” What could be better than that?
Full Description
Dear all,
Let me start by saying that your Acting Out Dean very much appreciates all the responses she receives to her Friday messages. I like the compliments, I like the comments and most of all, I like the questions: for example, what is a soft-play center? It saddens me that some of you have not had occasion to visit one of these. I would like to enlighten you briefly about what happens at a soft play center, before moving on to discussion of Montessori day care centers for dogs. At a soft play center, children do everything they would do in an outdoor playground, but all the equipment is soft. There are soft slides, soft climbing walls, soft obstacle courses, and my personal favorite, ball pits, where you sit in a soft box filled with soft balls and play extremely softly. In my research, I have discovered that soft play centres are helpful in a number of ways. They allow children to play freely, they are safe (so soft!!!), they are social, they encourage creativity, you can play in them even when it’s raining because they are usually indoors (soft and wet – not a great combination), and one psychologist notes that they are “exercise in disguise.” What could be better than that?
Unfortunately, it has taken me longer than expected to explain the nature of soft play centres, so you will have to wait until next week to learn more about Montessori dog day cares.
Down to business! I note the following:
We are all very tired.
We are still very tired.
BUT: we are still doing things, viz, as far as Ewell is concerned:
We are continuing to hire new faculty at a dizzying pace
We have been given the go-ahead by the President to continue with implementation of the new framework for teaching faculty. (She asked us to deal with the teaching faculty framework first, but we will move on very soon to the research faculty framework). Having seen the slightly revised framework she asked me for after I met with her last week, she now thinks we can move ahead as soon as possible. We don’t have to pause until the fall. We are still fine tuning the document, and awaiting the final go-ahead by Carrie Nee, University Counsel and HR. As soon as we get it back from them, we will share it with you and – pending further discussion with you if necessary and desired – will start sending out placement notifications. Our aim is to issue new contracts to all current Lecturers and Senior Lecturers by the end of May, or perhaps June. This has been a long and rocky road, full of unexpected twists, turns and delays, but it’s going to happen and it’s going to happen relatively soon. I send my heartfelt thanks to the many people who have participated in building this document and sharing their thoughts and feedback – and that’s almost all of you.
The steering committee for Computing, Data and Applied Sciences is making excellent progress. We’ve met with around 20 different groups (including departments) at their request, received 45 responses to our “share your questions” survey, held five town halls, received numerous comments via our online form, and researched a number of different institutions around the country. We are currently revising a survey requesting your input on potential features of a new entity (inside A&S, outside A&S; graduate only, or undergraduate and graduate, etc), and we will send that out in the coming days. We expect to present our report to the Provost by May 31, and it will be shared with the community. A number of people have asked whether there will be opportunities for input after the report is submitted and I will work with the Provost to figure that out.
Student Accessibility Services is working to make it easier for faculty who are giving exams this semester to administer them to students who require extra time, etc. Stay tuned on that. I really appreciate your kindness and patience with students who need flexibility – whether they have formal accommodations or not. Our students are tired too, and in dire need of soft play.
Finally, I want to say thank you to all of you for your persistence and resilience this semester through the leadership transitions in A&S and elsewhere at W&M. It’s unsettling to have simultaneous searches for a Dean of A&S, a COO, a registrar, and a Chief People Officer (formerly known as Prince Director of HR). The Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Development are as new in their posts as your Acting Out Dean. Hang in there, and go to a soft play center this weekend.
Take care, Suzanne
Suzanne Raitt
Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Chancellor Professor of English
Pronouns: she/her/hers
