Dean's Newsletter

It’s A celebration--Winter Welcome Back!
Upon arrival back to campus in January, students will be greeted by two weeks of exciting programs and activities to kick start the semester.

January

• 13        Welcome Back Themed Dinner for all new and returning students, 4:30-8 p.m.
• 14        Marvelous Monday Giveaways plus Grab and Go snacks, 11 a.m.- 2 p.m.
• 16        Whitaker Wednesday--Mocktails and Paint Night with CAB, 9-11 p.m.
• 18        Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration (film)
• 19        Ski Liberty Trip! 6-11 p.m.
• 21        MLK Program:C. Nicole Mason Ph.D., author of Born Bright: A Young Girl’s Journey from Nothing to Something in America
• 22        Indoor Olympics, 8 p.m.
• 23        Student Organization Fair, 8 p.m.
• 26        Ice Skating @ Skate Frederick, 8-11 p.m.

For additional information, please see the 2018-19 academic calendar and the campus events calendar.

New Students
We are excited about welcoming new first-year and transfer students, Sunday, Jan. 13. All have been invited to a New Student Orientation and Welcome Back Dinner at Coblentz Dining Hall. Returning students are encouraged to extend a warm Hood “Hello” to new students.

This Week at Hood
On a weekly basis, the Office of Student Engagement publishes an e-newsletter (sent to the students’ campus email address) which includes a listing of programs and activities sponsored by different Hood offices and student organizations. If your student says, “there’s nothing to do,” please suggest they look at this publication which outlines a plethora of activities.

Financial Aid
As the new calendar year begins, it’s also time to start thinking about the next academic year! If your family is planning to apply for financial aid for the 2019-20 academic year, this is the perfect time to fill out your FAFSA online at https://fafsa.gov. Students who submitted a FAFSA last year are able to use their FSA ID to start a Renewal FAFSA, which will automatically input past data to be updated.

The 2019-20 FAFSA asks for 2017 income and tax information. If your family’s financial situation has changed significantly since 2017, you should contact the Office of Financial Aid for guidance.

March 1 is the Hood College priority deadline for financial aid consideration; students who submit their FAFSA by this date will be given first priority for institutional grants and endowment funding. Maryland residents are required to complete the FAFSA by March 1 in order to be considered for state funding. For more information, please visit www.mhec.state.md.us.

If you have questions about the financial aid process, please contact the financial aid office at 301-696-3411 or finaid@hood.edu.

Health and Counseling Services
Hood College’s health and counseling partnership with Frederick Regional Health System (FRHS) has completed its first semester. Students can obtain services in the conveniently located Frederick Memorial Hospital (FMH) Toll House facility on 501 West 7th Street.

For students obtaining routine health care and counseling services, there is no fee for service. However, if a student receives specialty care or diagnostic testing such as x-rays, scans and laboratory work, the student will be billed.  Students are advised to take their insurance card, as well as their Hood ID, for each visit.

Students are encouraged to call for questions or to schedule appointments. Students may also walk in for health services. Health and counseling services are available during fall and spring semesters while classes are in session. For a complete listing of hours and services, visit the health and counseling services website.

New Residence Hall Project
To accommodate growth in the residential program, students and administrators have worked together for the past year with an architectural firm to design a new residence hall. The Board of Trustees reviewed the design in October and approved construction of the five-floor facility, which will provide an additional 200 beds on campus. The building will be located behind Memorial Hall and adjacent to Coffman Chapel, thus creating a second residential quad for student life. To make room for the new hall, the Marx Center will be razed.

The first floor of the residence hall will include a common-area lounge, open kitchen, multi-purpose room, a seminar room and space for the Honors Program. The living spaces will include two-, three- and four-bed suites and semi-suites with lounges and group study rooms on each floor. Watch a video of the new building.

Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2019, and the building will be ready for students in August 2020.

Mold/Mildew Issues
The record rain fall in 2018, coupled with high humidity levels and summer-like temperatures in September and October, made it very difficult to maintain normal moisture levels in buildings. While there were some mold/mildew issues reported throughout campus during the fall, Memorial Hall was particularly impacted due to a deficiency in the insulation covering the chilled water pipes. Whenever an issue was identified, the facilities department immediately cleaned and treated the affected areas with an environmentally safe enzyme. If necessary, students were provided alternative housing options until the issue was fully remediated. As we transitioned to cooler weather in November, the heating systems dried out the buildings and the moisture problems subsided. Over the winter break, the pipe insulation in Memorial Hall will be replaced to help mitigate any future issues in that building.

Please know that Hood College takes these types of matters very seriously. We will continue to do everything in our control to provide a safe, clean and comfortable environment for our students.

Transportation
Starting in February, Washington, D.C. will be more readily accessible to our students! Free bi-monthly shuttles to the Shady Grove Metro will be available to any student who would like to enjoy our nation’s capital. Dates and times will be announced via This Week at Hood, which will also include a link to sign up for the shuttle. Additionally, the Office of Student Engagement and the Campus Activities Board sponsor special trips throughout the year to Washington, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and New York City. Students are informed of these opportunities via email, campus flyers, and announcements included in This Week at Hood. E-sign up for special trips is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Emergency Plan
The Department of Campus Safety has worked with several internal departments, external law enforcement and first-responder agencies to update its current Emergency Operations Plan. Students, faculty and staff were introduced to the plan throughout the fall semester, and training is being provided to the campus community. The Emergency Readiness Guide is posted online.

A campus-wide active shooter hide drill is being planned for the spring semester. Messages for the drill will be issued through the Hood Alert mass notification system. By use of email, text or automated phone messaging, this system gives college administration and security professionals the ability to reach participating students, faculty, staff, parents and others with time-sensitive information during unforeseen events or emergencies.

Sign up for Hood Alert.

CARE
In summer 2018, Hood College established The CARE Office, a new program funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, designed to enhance the prevention of and response to relationship violence, sexual assault and stalking on campus. CARE (Campus Awareness, Response and Education) employs best practices and a coordinated community approach to develop response and prevention through internal partnerships with students, faculty and staff, as well as external partnerships with The Frederick Center, Frederick Memorial Hospital, Frederick Police Department and Heartly House.

In the new year, CARE is excited to introduce a new, prevention-focused student leadership initiative. SPARC, standing for Student-led Peer Advocacy for Healthy Relationships and Consent, is a diverse collaborative of students committed to creating a positive culture on campus. This new student organization aims to “spark” dialogue about healthy, safe relationships and sexual experiences while also creating opportunities for students to build prosocial skills, such as setting boundaries and being active bystanders. The entire campus community is invited to attend our kick-off for SPARC on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Students who are interested in getting involved in SPARC can contact The CARE Office at carrn@hood.edu to learn more!

Composting Efforts
Students in the Hood Environment Action Team (HEAT) worked with the College’s food service vendor to create a composting program in the Coblentz Dining Hall. As a result of this program, almost 19,000 pounds of food waste were composted in 2018.

Fall Family Weekend/Homecoming 2019
Mark your calendar now and plan to attend Fall Family Weekend/Homecoming, Sept. 27-29, 2019. This two-day weekend will include intercollegiate athletic events, an outdoor festival, town and gown events, and a variety of activities for the entire family. A detailed event calendar, including hotel accommodations and information about registration, will be available just before spring break in March 2019.