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Welcome to the March edition of the Warrior Family e-newsletter. I had planned to send this out last week during our spring break, but I decided to wait until our campus leadership determined our course of action for the rest of the semester in light of the coronavirus pandemic. We are heartbroken that we had to make the difficult yet responsible decision to move all of our classes online for the rest of the spring semester. Your student’s health and safety is most important to us.
Our faculty are working hard to structure their classes so the online experience is interesting and engaging. We have phenomenal teachers at Indiana Tech, and they will provide your student with an excellent education this spring.
We are trying to limit the number of students on our campus and group gatherings of people. That is why we’ve gone online for the remainder of the spring, and why we’ve asked residential students to move out of residence halls by March 29. But, please know the university remains open and our team is here to help with individual needs. If your student needs help getting access to online classes, our computer labs and wifi on main campus and at regional locations are still available for your student to use. If your student lives in a residence hall and is simply unable to return home, we can make arrangements for your student to stay on campus. We will continue to provide dining services and access to key facilities, under adjusted schedules. Please let our team know of any special needs your student may have.
We are confident we can make the best of this situation and we will continue to interact with you and your student this spring. Below in this newsletter is a brief video message that President Einolf and I put together to let you know how Indiana Tech will continue to support your student this spring.
On a much-needed positive note, Indiana Tech’s Cyber Defense team – the Cyber Warriors – recently won their sixth straight state championship in the Indiana Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in February! They beat teams from both Indiana University Bloomington and Purdue University West Lafayette.
That victory earned the Cyber Warriors a berth in the March 13-14 national championship qualifying competition–the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition Midwest Regional–against the state champions from Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Indiana Tech finished third in that competition behind first-place DePaul and runner-up Baldwin Wallace on March 14.
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In the photo above:From left to right: Clifford Clarke, outreach committee chair for Indiana Tech’s Alumni Board, poses with Cyber Warriors Jakob Stadelmayer, Adam Swanson, Carson Sanderson, Ethan Anderson, Cameron Fyfe, Zach Hopkins, Alex Knipper and Sam Boger during the Indiana Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition on Feb. 8.
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Helping Students Stay Connected
Below is a link to a short video message from Dr. and Mrs. Einolf, with an update on how we can all stay connected while working online during this time. In the video, you’ll also find information on the many ways that you and your student can get assistance for any needs you may have.
View Dr. and Mrs. Einolf's video message here: https://youtu.be/H2WyIWnrbZo
All of us at Indiana Tech continue to encourage students to stay connected to their faculty members, their coaches, their friends and others from around the Tech family as they go about their studies.
Throughout this first week of online classes, faculty members and student success advisors have been reaching out to students to ensure they have the tools and access they need to work successfully online. Please encourage your students to regularly monitor their Indiana Tech emails for important information, and to reach out to their faculty for any help they may need.
Stay Up to Date: indianatech.edu/coronavirus
With the coronavirus pandemic situation continuing to evolve on a daily basis, Indiana Tech has created a dedicated web page on our website to provide ongoing updates to the Warrior community. Visit www.indianatech.edu/coronavirus for the latest information on how our university continues to support students in pursuing their education during this time.
Staying Healthy
There is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person. Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about six feet). Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
Recently, the Center for Disease Control released following coronavirus guidelines:
- PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE
- Wash your hands, especially after touching any frequently-used item or surface.
- Avoid touching your face.
- Sneeze or cough into a tissue or the inside of your elbow.
- Disinfect frequently-used items and surfaces as much as possible.
- Listen to and follow the directions of your STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
- IF YOU FEEL SICK, stay home. Do not go to work. Contact your medical provider.
- IF SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD HAS TESTED POSITIVE for the coronavirus, keep the entire household at home. Do not go to work. Do not go to school. Contact your medical provider.
- IF YOU ARE AN OLDER PERSON, stay home and away from other people.
- IF YOU ARE A PERSON WITH A SERIOUS UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITION that can put you at increased risk (for example, a condition that impairs your lung or heart function or weakens your immune system), stay home and away from other people.
- AVOID SOCIAL GATHERINGS in groups of more than 10 people.
- Avoid eating or drinking at bars, restaurants and food courts—USE DRIVE-THRU, CARRY-OUT OR DELIVERY OPTIONS.
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Warriors Compete Nationally
Congratulations to the men’s and women’s track teams, who both earned third-place finishes at the NAIA Indoor National Championships on March 7. Indiana Tech had a plethora of athletes earn All-American honors, led by Destiny Copeland, who tied her personal-best in the triple jump with a mark of 12.34m/40-5.75 to win the individual title.
On the same day, the Warriors' men's wrestling team had three competitors earn All-American honors as the squad finished 19th in the nation.
COVID-19 Ends Sports Seasons Abruptly
On March 12, the NAIA suspended and cancelled the remaining national championships for its winter sports.
It was an extremely disappointing blow for the women's basketball team, which entered the tournament as Wolverine-Hoosier Conference regular-season and tournament champions and owners of a 29-4 record and an 18-game winning streak. The Warriors opened national tournament play with a convincing 88-73 win over Olivet Nazarene University before the season was shut down. Senior DeAnn Kauffman earned All-American honors for the Warriors.
MEN'S BASKETBALL: After winnning the WHAC regular-season title, the men's season ended at 21-12 with a 60-56 loss to Holy Cross College in the opening round of the national tournament. Sophomore Josh Kline earned All-American honors for the squad.
BASEBALL: The Warriors wrapped its season up with an 11-5 record and an 11th-place ranking in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25.
BOWLING: The men's and women's bowling teams each won their WHAC regular seasons and were prepared to compete in the NAIA national championships before their cancellation. Junior Dawson Maier was named WHAC Men's Bowler of the Year, while coach Jeff Dreyfus was named WHAC Coach of the Year. On the ladies' side, junior Maryssa Carey was named WHAC Women's Bowler of the Year, while coach Tom Osborne was named WHAC Coach of the Year.
HOCKEY: Indiana Tech's D1 team wrapped up its season with a 25-9 record, including a 16-4 WHAC mark, and a No. 10 ranking in the American Collegiate Hockey Association. Francesco Corona, Nick Papandrea and Joel Holmberg earned all-WHAC honors.
LACROSSE: The men's ended their season ranked ninth in the nation with a 3-1 record. The women ended at 1-3.
SOFTBALL: The Warriors ended their season with a 5-7 record.
TENNIS: The men's squad ended its season ranked No. 24 in the nation with an 8-4 record. It was the Warriors' first appearance in the NAIA poll in program history. The ladies ended their season with a 7-2 record.
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Student Life Moves Online
With the move to online courses for the remainder of the semester, Student Life events and initiatives are adapting and moving online as well. We will continue engaging with students to keep them connected to Indiana Tech, give them opportunities to have fun and de-stress, and make them feel like part of the Warrior family from afar.
One initiative that will be moved online is our Adulting 101 series. Adulting 101 is a series of events that are designed to teach students life skills they might not learn in the classroom. Cooking 101 took place on February 26th while students were still on campus, with the help of Tech Fresh’s Chef Luke. Students learned about food safety, knife care and usage, and were able to make (and eat) chicken broccoli fettuccini alfredo. There are several more Adulting 101 sessions this semester that will cover topics including personal finance and renting & buying. These events will be live-streamed on the Student Life Instagram account and also made accessible so students who don't catch them live can access them at a later time.
Other events and engagement opportunities that students can look forward to include online watch parties, games, and social media competitions. Students will even have the chance to experience the new coffee shop in Summit Hall, which was supposed to open this week, through a series of streamed coffee shop performances. Students will be kept informed on what we are planning through Commons 803, Student Life social media, as well as their student emails. Despite these unique circumstances, our mission and purpose remain the same. We are still here for your students and will continue to provide them with positive experiences during these challenging times.
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Health & Wellness Clinic
With the end of the academic year approaching and the unusual circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, stress levels of students may be at an all-time high. While students are away from campus, we are still doing our best to provide valuable resources for students to help them get through the stress and/or illness.
Indiana Tech’s Wellness Clinic is equipped with a health clinic nurse practitioner and licensed counseling professionals to help our student body maintain optimum physical and emotional health. Our nurse practitioner is currently available Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. With students moving out of residence halls by 3/29, the last day the health clinic will be open is 3/27. Appointments at the health clinic can be scheduled online for the next week at https://mpclinicschedule.setster.com/. Walk-ins are also accepted during normal office hours.
Students also have access to a variety of short-term counseling and consultation services, including up to six full counseling sessions per year. The counselors are still currently on campus and can be available to students at home via phone or video chat. Counselors are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. with a short lunch midday and there is no charge for these services. While there are currently some licensing legalities that prevent counselors from providing services to students outside of the state of Indiana, we are working with the appropriate agencies and officials on a solution so that all students can make use of these resources, no matter where they currently reside. We will keep the Indiana Tech community updated as we work towards a solution.
Students may email counseling@indianatech.edu or call 260.266.8060 or 800.721.8809 to schedule an appointment. Finally, students can access the After-Hours Crisis Line at 260.446.1867.
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| Tech Treasures is still open! Click the above image to shop Tech Treasures online store.
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Spring semester will continue under its normal schedule. Important dates to remember:
3/31: Last day to withdraw from spring classes
4/17: Summer/Fall Pre-registration ends. Student advisors are reaching out to every student now to help with planning and registering for summer and fall.
5/4 – 5/7: Final Exams
About Commencement
At Indiana Tech, we often refer to Commencement as our Super Bowl. It’s the celebration of all of the hard work that our students do to earn their degrees; it’s the best day of our year, every year. This year’s Commencement ceremonies are scheduled for May 8 for Graduate Commencement, and May 9 for Undergraduate Commencement. Both ceremonies may need to be postponed. A decision regarding Commencement will be made in the coming days and communicated to all students and families at that time.
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Our faculty have been working hard to move their classes online in order to continue providing the best educational experience possible for our students during this challenging time. Please feel free to share these fun facts with your student, as one more way to maintain a positive connection between students and faculty.
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Dominic Lombardo - Associate Professor, Department Chair of Criminal Justice & Pre-Law
- Before coming to Indiana Tech, I was a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. While there, I was on the Hollywood Division Robbery/Homicide Unit, the South Central L.A. Gang Unit and the Special Investigation Section, which was responsible for solving cold case murders.
- While on the LAPD, I was also a consultant for several television shows and motion picture studios, which involved the technical advising of police procedures and tactics.
- I make yearly trips to South Asia (Cambodia and Thailand) where I go undercover and rescue young girls (ages 5-14) from the bondages of human sex trafficking.
Craig Dyer - Associate Professor, Sport Management
- I'd rather ride a motorcycle than a roller coaster.
- Our Yorkshire Terrier owns more sweaters than me.
- My favorite sport movie is Hoosiers.
Dr. Yun Su - Assistant Professor of Mathematics
- I really enjoy painting and Bob Ross is my favorite. I love his quote, “We don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.”
- I have created an ABC alphabet photo book all with Lucas (my son) and the object of each letter. All 26 photos are taken by myself 😊.
- I am the family picture photographer for Fort Wayne Chinese School and Fort Wayne Chinese Family Association.
- I have been participating in Chinese group dance. Mayor Tom Henry was one of our audiences during the Dragon Boat Race Festival opening ceremony in Promenade Park.
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Final thoughts from a fellow mom
Both of my sons, Nicholas and Thomas, returned to Fort Wayne earlier this week, as both of their universities moved classes online for the remainder of the semester. While we are certainly happy to see them, we share the sadness that you all are feeling that their spring semester college experience has been cut short. However, they’ve become our resident experts on how to connect with our students online and in social media over the course of the spring semester. Karl is active on Instagram (follow him at @presidentkarleinolf), and he gets many of his ideas for posts from Nicholas and Thomas. Both Karl and I will keep in touch with our students often this spring!
We pray that you and your families are both safe and healthy during this challenging time for our country and our world. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help. Your Indiana Tech family will continue to be here for you.
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