Dear SIPS Community,

Welcome Louis Longchamps! Please join me in welcoming Louis Longchamps, Assistant Professor in the Soil and Crop Sciences section. It was a difficult journey for Louis and his family to move from Canada during boarder closures and a pandemic, but they made it and we are thrilled he is here.

Staffing update. As you know, Andy Vail has served as both interim Facilities Director for CALS and Senior Administrative Director for SIPS since July 1, 2019. As of today, the interim title has been removed and Andy is assuming the facilities roll full-time. Andy will certainly be missed in SIPS and we wish him the best of luck in his new role.

With Andy moving to Facilities, Magdalen Lindeberg has transitioned (as of today) to a position that combines components of Andy’s position along with key responsibilities from her communications role. Magdalen will retain the title Assistant Director and Tami, Leslie, and Tracy will report to her. Both Tami and Leslie will continue as administrative managers for their sections. Tracy has formally assumed all finance responsibility as the chief finance and budget leader of the school. Please join me in welcoming Magdalen to this new role.

Feel free to look at the current SIPS organizational chart

SIPS diversity and inclusion: anyone can Report a Bias Incident by clicking that link (also prominently displayed on the SIPS home page)

Student Visa concerns: Last Friday we received an email from Cornell Office of Global Learning and Vice Provost Wendy Wolford describing a new proposed rule on visa duration and extension. I encourage everyone to submit comments describing the negative impact these rules would have it implemented. International students and scholars, please know that you are a critical part of the fabric that makes SIPS and we will continue to advocate on your behalf during this difficult time.

Fall Semester Updates

The Cornell Covid-19 update website has all of the most recent information as well as a link to the Covid-19 tracking dashboard.

• SIPS has allocated rooms for students to reserve at: https://sips-cornell.libcal.com/spaces?lid=11619
• There are bookable rooms across the university that are available on: https://chatter.cornell.edu

Just a reminder that the last day of in-person class is November 13. November 14-16 are semi-final study days – no classes. Instruction resumes – all classes online – on Monday November 30.

Renovation

Plans for Bradfield and Plant Science renovation continue to move forward.  Additional information about the Bradfield project will be announced in the coming weeks.

The SIPS building committee as well as section chairs have been involved with the Plant Science renovation plans. Schematic Design phase will be completed this week, after which the project will pause to await approval by both the Provost and NY State.  There is also information available on the renovation page of the SIPS website.

2019 – 2020 Faculty Search updates:

• Plant synthetic biology: Laura Gunn has accepted the position and will be joining the faculty May 1, 2021.
• Genomics-empowered biology of plant pathogenic fungi: Lori Huberman has accepted the position and will be joining the faculty January 1, 2021.
• Breeding for Sustainable Forage Cropping Systems: This just in! Virginia (Ginny) Moore has accepted the position and will be joining the faculty February 1, 2021.
• Physiology of fruit crop adaptation to climate change: The final stages of interviews are occurring this month. We hope to have good news next month.

Congratulations to the following people who were recognized with a SIPS Kudos in the last month! Thanks for your effort and passion in support of SIPS.

• Building Mastery and Skill: Bill Salone
• Creativity and ideas: Kate Keagle
• Going Above & Beyond: SIPS custodial staff, Audrey Klein, Chase Crowell, Chris Pelzer, Heather Grab, Jamie Crawford, Jason Schiller, Jesse Chavez, Ryan Crawford, Linda Cox, Magdalen Lindeberg, Neil Mattson, Sandra Jensen, Steve Hatfield, Zoe Dubrow
• Inspirational Leadership: Carlyn Buckler, Chris Pelzer, Chris Smart, Michael Scanlon
• Strong Team Spirit: Andy Vail, Sandeep Sharma, Sandra Wayman

PLEASE remember to recognize people in our SIPS community that have gone out of their way to enhance our School. All you have to do is complete the brief form here

Take care,

Chris