New UK COVID-19 strand spreads widely

News

Jessica Conk, Staff

As of January 2021, there have been two known cases of the U.K. strain of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. Health departments are working with other cities in Pennsylvania to create a plan that monitors, identifies and tracks citizens exposed to the new strain. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “The U.K. variant may have an increased risk of causing death. The U.K. variant is known to spread faster and more easily than others.” The CDC works with different public health agencies to monitor the spread of the U.K. strain, but there are still parts of the new variants that are leaving scientists unsure. The CDC stated, “Scientists are working to learn more about these variants, and more studies are needed to understand; How widely these new variants have spread, How the disease caused by these new variants differs from the disease caused by other variants that are currently circulating and how these variants may affect existing therapies, vaccines, and tests.” The CDC continues to try and encourage wearing a mask, maintaining six feet of distance and avoiding large gatherings. They are unsure whether or not the same measures will protect people from the new U.K. variant.

U.S. News & World Report
Officials go door-to-door in the UK to test for the new COVID-19 variant.

Communities in London have begun testing house-by-house for the new variants of COVID-19. According to AP News, “Public health officials are concerned about the variant first identified in South Africa because it contains a mutation of the virus’ characteristic spike protein that existing vaccines target. The mutation may mean the vaccines offer less protection against the variant.” Public Health officials in England have created a door-to-door strategy of testing and insist that people remain home unless absolutely necessary. Health care officials are handing out home testing kits and setting up many testing sights as a way of reaching all members of the communities. The U.K. aims to shut down their borders and require quarantining for 14 days for everyone that enters their country. A professor from University College London, Andrew Hayward, stated in an AP News article, “You can think about completely shutting the borders or having quarantine, [but] what’s the endgame in that? Is that something that you’re going to do forever, because it looks like these strains may continue to arise in the long term? So we need some sort of sustainable strategy, and I think that’s very difficult for politicians to think about that.” While it’s unknown whether or not the U.K. variant is more infectious, scientists and health care officials suggest wearing your mask, social distancing and getting the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available to you. Cases are spreading to individuals who have never left the country or had contact with anyone who traveled to London. The House of Commons was told by Health Secretary Matt Hancock that, “Our mission must be to stop its spread altogether and break chains of transmission.”

conkj1@lasalle.edu

La Salle President to leave; three administrators to follow

News

La Salle University
From Left to Right: Colleen Hanycz, Joe Meade, Dawn Soufleris, Kevin E. Dolan. Four administrators are leaving the University; meanwhile, the Board has created an executive vice president role.

Bianca Abbate, Editor-in-Chief

This story is developing.

The recent announcement that La Salle President Colleen Hanycz would leave La Salle University for Xavier University left many in the community with questions; now, one source has revealed that departing with Hanycz are Chief of Staff Joe Meade, Vice President of Strategy and General Counsel Kevin E. Dolan and Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Dawn Soufleris.

During an opening meeting Jan. 14, it was announced to faculty that the three administrators would be leaving the University for new roles. Dolan and Meade are to leave in February; Soufleris is to leave in April.

Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Government and Community Affairs Joe Meade is set to assume the role of vice president of community relations and government affairs at Comcast Spectator. Meade will begin his new role leading the company’s strategy and program development efforts Feb. 22; according to the Philadelphia Tribune, his main objective at Comcast Spectator will be to grow the game of hockey within the greater Philadelphia area. In his current position at the University, Meade’s responsibilities include personnel operations, financial management and coordination with senior leadership, as well as lobbying for public funding opportunities for the University. In 2018, Meade was named to Philadelphia Business Journal’s “40 Under 40,” after which he told University Communications, “I am appreciative in being given the opportunity to serve in such a significant capacity under the leadership of President Hanycz. Momentum is upon us, and I am thrilled to be a part of the remarkable La Salle community.” Meade’s position at La Salle will not be filled at this time.

Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Dawn Soufleris will assume a new role in New Jersey at Montclair State University April 5, 2021. In her new role, she will oversee 22 departments with nearly 300 employees and some 700 student workers. Soufleris joined La Salle in 2016 after serving at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as associate vice president for student affairs. Since 2016, Soufleris has re-envisioned Public Safety and Career Services and developed a week-long student orientation program for incoming freshmen. She is also the institution’s deputy Title IX director. Soufleris told Montclair State University, “Providing students with support, positive engagement, and ample opportunities to find their niche and to shine have been my central tenets throughout my career in higher education…To be able to continue this work as a member of the Red Hawk family is such an honor…I look forward to meeting students, the SDCL staff and the campus community and to learning more about the exceptional educational experience Montclair provides to its students.” To date, the University has appointed former Assistant Vice President of Strategic Communications and Marketing Angela Polec to the role of vice president of enrollment, marketing and communications, effective Feb. 8.

La Salle University
Pictured above is new Vice President of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications Angela Polec.

Vice President of Strategy and General Counsel Kevin Dolan is set to leave in February for a role as partner of a law firm, Mullen Coughlin, in which he will handle data privacy. In his current role at La Salle, Dolan oversees legal issues and strategic initiatives at the University. He also serves as secretary to the Board of Trustees. Before joining La Salle in 2015, Dolan worked in the private law sector as partner at the Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith firm in its Data Privacy and Network Security practice group. Effective Feb. 8, former Associate General Counsel Sean Corgan will oversee both of Dolan’s current roles.

La Salle University
Pictured above is Sean Corgan.

Also coming to La Salle under the role of executive vice president is Tim O’Shaughnessy, ‘85, who is a graduate of the business school. Before joining La Salle, O’Shaughnessy served as the chief financial officer for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 2012-2019. According to one source, O’Shaughnessy was hired in October without the faculty’s knowledge or consultation. The Faculty Senate heard about the appointment on Feb. 1 and were not familiar with the appointee. The executive vice presidency did not exist prior to O’Shaughnessy’s appointment.

La Salle University
Pictured above is Tim O’Shaughnessy, ’85.

With the President and three of her executive cabinet members on their way out, the task to find new employees, including the chief of staff, may be difficult, given the University’s financial struggles. Over the summer, the University laid off 53 employees (nearly 7 percent of the full-time workforce) and cut salaries or hours for 48 others. Another 51 vacant staff positions were eliminated. Hanycz told the Philadelphia Inquirer in June that, amid the pandemic, La Salle faced millions in losses and additional expenses. Hanycz added that institutions like La Salle (“lightly endowed” and “highly dependent on tuition, room and board”) would face “a dire financial outlook” if students would not return to school in the fall. Following these statements, students would carry out the fall semester remotely and some, but not all, would return to campus for the spring semester.

While the news was announced to faculty Jan. 14, the University has not yet notified the student body of these departures; one source claimed that the University is to send students an email detailing the departures in the near future. The University did publicly welcome those filling new roles on its website Feb. 2.

abbateb2@lasalle.edu

RSA tackles racism following incident in residence halls

News

Rita Offutt, Editor

La Salle’s Resident Student Association (RSA) hosted a community debriefing event on Feb. 2, 2021 to discuss the hate symbol found in St. George on Jan. 18, 2021. The debrief covered details about the incident and focused on how the La Salle community can overcome acts of hate. The meeting was hosted and led by RSA president Elizabeth Hallinan and other executive board members. It was attended by La Salle’s Director of Public Safety Compliance and Investigation Eva Howard, the Assistant Vice President of Student Engagement Anna Allen, the Director of Multicultural Affairs Cherylyn Rush, the Director of Residence Life TiRease Holmes and the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Dr. Dawn Soufleris.

Howard opened the meeting by explaining the incident. On Jan. 18, Public Safety received a request for an investigation after several etchings of racist speech were found written in a restroom stall. The incident was investigated, and included interviews of all of St. George’s residents. Ultimately, Public Safety was unable to determine when the etchings appeared and if they were written by a current resident. The bathroom stalls where the writings have been sanded down, painted over and repaired. Residents have been instructed to contact Public Safety immediately if they notice further damage.

Soufleris explained how Public Safety’s process overlaps with La Salle’s proceedings. Following the report of the incident, La Salle’s Biased Incident Response Team (BIRT) met and determined how to proceed. BIRT comprises a number of administrators from various departments and was formed to handle incidents of intolerance with consistency. Due to the location of the etchings, and the reasonable expectation of privacy associated with bathrooms and residence halls, Soufleris reported the University will not be installing video cameras. Instead, the administration is working with student organizations to develop a space for discussion and opportunities to build tolerance on campus.

Students at the debrief reported feeling shocked and disappointed by the incident, and many attendees noted their difficulty with the situation given the protests that took place this summer. Allen said, “I think La Salle has the capacity to be actively anti-racist…I want to hope the etchings are old. I tend to be an optimist when it comes to our student community.” Soufleris added that she is “confident in the community we have here.” Rush applauded RSA for responding to the incident, saying that similar efforts are normally led by marginalized students. She commended RSA’s demonstration of allyship and ownership of the community. The debrief was the first time RSA has hosted a debriefing event and led a discussion following an instance of hate.

Everyone in attendance was encouraged to reflect on the ways hate speech in La Salle’s community impacts them. Many administrators, including Allen and Rush, invited students to reach out to them. Soufleris said she “would really like to listen, to hear [students] thoughts.” More information about future initiatives to address hate and intolerance can be found by contacting RSA at rsa@lasalle.edu.

offuttr1@lasalle.edu

Philly Fighting COVID Controversy

News

Kylie McGovern, Editor

Vaccination Site The Philadelphia Inquirer

At the beginning of January 2021, Andrei Doroshin, a recent Drexel University graduate, began pioneering a vaccine center in Philadelphia and called it Philly Fighting COVID (PFC). Its website reads, “PFC opened the first mass community vaccination clinic in Philadelphia and is now the preeminent blueprint for mass clinic design and operations because it maximizes safety, efficiency, and patient privacy while administering more than 50x the daily vaccines that we administered during the H1N1 pandemic. Philly Fighting Covid (PFC) was founded in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic by a group of forward-thinking engineers and scientists who refused to stand idle…” However, this non-profit soon became a city-wide controversy.

Doroshin sent a photo via Snapchat of him taking home vaccine doses despite patients being turned away that same day. This photo circulated around to a near dozen people.

Later, Doroshin admitted to taking home four vaccine doses for his friend and girlfriend. Soon, Doroshin was also demanding for Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley to resign, but Mayor Jim Kenney is standing behind Farley.

The City of Philadelphia has since severed its ties with PFC and is planning a hearing. Council President Darrell Clarke wants to require the city to sign written contracts with vaccine partners from now on. The city’s office of inspector general is meanwhile examining whether Dr. Caroline Johnson, an acting deputy in the health department, unfairly gave Doroshin’s group, and another potential applicant, budget information that was not made public. As of now, it is unclear if Doroshin will face any criminal charges, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Kraner and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro are looking into the investigation. Shapiro said the allegations “are serious and any consumers who believe they have been misled should file a complaint with our office.” He continued, “Taking advantage of people and their privacy under the guise of serving as a nonprofit is not only unethical — it can also be against Pennsylvania law.” In addition to Doroshin taking vaccines, PFC started billing insurance companies for the vaccines, despite receiving them for free. Doroshin defended that decision as well, claiming that the donations the group was receiving were not enough to cover the costs of running the vaccination clinics. Despite the controversy, nearly 7,000 Philadelphians were vaccinated by PFC. mcgovernk8@lasalle.edu

Caught in the Act project launches at La Salle

News

Caught in the Act project launches at La Salle

Jessica Conk, Staff

On Aug. 14, 2020, La Salle students received communication from the University encouraging them to take the Explorer Promise. Members of the community who took the oath not only promised to wear a mask, follow the physical distance guidelines and wash/sanitize regularly, they promised to take others’ health into consideration every morning prior to coming to campus. Students who are living on campus and experience any COVID-19 symptoms (including fever, cough and shortness of breath) are directed to self-quarantine. La Salle’s administration team recommends letting faculty know when classes are being missed due to symptoms related to COVID-19. Administrators expect to continue to make decisions that will keep our community safe during the remainder of the pandemic.

In an effort to keep the community safe, President Hanycz advised students to stay home if they feel ill, follow capacity limits indoors and avoid large gatherings. However, not only students play a role in keeping our community safe. The return-to-campus plan includes new protocols the University administration is implementing to keep students safe, such as guidelines for testing and identifying positive cases, increased cleaning protocols and instructions for living and dining on campus. In following these protocols, all students were tested before moving in or beginning classes on campus. Areas that are used often, like restrooms, classrooms, residential buildings, dining rooms, entranceways and elevators are cleaned multiple times a day. Over the course of the spring 2021 semester, part of the return-to-campus plan mentions an “Entry and Surveillance” plan, detailing how students will be randomly selected for testing throughout the spring 2021 semester. Since entry testing is complete, La Salle is shifting into the surveillance testing part of the plan. At random, students that are living, working or learning on campus will be selected for testing. La Salle administrators also made the decision to implement a “No Guest Policy” which prevents resident students from having outside individuals in their dormitories. For La Salle to remain open for the entire spring 2021 semester, La Salle’s administration must ensure all COVID-19 protocols are being followed. In addition to the previously listed protocols, community members must wear masks above the nose, keep a minimum six-foot distance between students and sanitize their hands regularly.

The Assistant Vice President of Campus Life Anna Allen created a project that aims to help students better adapt to the changes the administration is enacting. Allen created the “Caught in the Act” project to ensure that Explorers follow the new guidelines. Allen stated, “This project hopes to ‘catch’ students wearing face masks properly, practicing good social distancing and using the hand sanitizer stations.” Everyday there will be student leaders walking the campus to reward students following protocols. If students are comfortable with participating, their picture will be taken and they will be given a coupon that can be used at Starbucks, Union Market or the Outpost. The Caught in the Act project was created to ensure that the La Salle community is not only following the new mandates, but encouraging other members to take part in keeping our community safe. Allen hopes that this project will remind students about the #ExplorersCare slogan that the entire community all have a part in.

Allen mentioned, “Our community is only as strong as what we do when no one is watching.” She recommends giving tips, such as, “Hi, could you put your mask over your nose,” or “Hi could you step back just a little so that we can be properly socially distanced?” If students become noncompliant with the regulations, they could be written up, or La Salle may have to shut down.

conkj1@lasalle.edu

La Salle alumnus, William J. Burns, nominated by President Biden to head CIA

News, Uncategorized

Bianca Abbate, Editor-in-Chief

Philly Voice
**Burns is a well-known figure in the diplomatic world**.

La Salle alumnus, William J. Burns ‘78, has been chosen by U.S. President Joe Biden to become the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In a video announcing Burns’ nomination, President Biden said of the career diplomat, “He knows how to lead — and lead with integrity.”

Ambassador Burns graduated from La Salle in 1978 with a degree in history. In his time at La Salle, Burns was an Honors Program student known by his professors as a dynamic and insightful presence in class. Through his classes, he developed an interest in the Middle East that would later aid his career. Burns continued his education as La Salle’s first Marshall Scholar at Oxford University where he pursued his M.Phil and D.Phil degrees in International Relations. In 1997, Burns received an honorary doctor of law degree from La Salle University.

President Biden on Ambassador Burns: “He knows how to lead — and lead with integrity.”

In 2011, Burns emphasized to The Inquirer that his professors played a major role in his education: “I was lucky to have some really fine teachers there, Jack Rossi, George Stow…Studying history gives you a perspective. History doesn’t exactly repeat itself, but you can learn from the challenges that leaders have faced. There are a lot of lessons to be learned.”

La Salle University Digital Commons

Burns is pictured above in the University yearbook.

Following his education, Burns embarked on a 33-year career in diplomacy. Speaking Arabic, Russian and French, Burns has served as ambassador to Russia and to Jordan and special assistant to Secretaries of State Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright. In 2011, during the Obama administration, Burns was confirmed as deputy secretary of state directly under Hillary Rodham Clinton. Before taking on the role of deputy secretary of state, Burns reflected on his time at La Salle in an interview with The Inquirer: “La Salle for me was a very grounded place, with lots of people with common sense…If you can’t explain the policies that an administration is embarking on in a way that makes sense to people…then there’s probably something wrong with your policy.”
The career diplomat has engaged in more than foreign relations. In 2014, Burns retired from diplomacy to head the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also has several publications, including his memoir, “The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal.”

The nomination is big news for the La Salle community. Professor of political science Mark Thomas, who formerly held a career in government, remarked, “Ambassador Burns’ nomination to Director of CIA is a testimony to the efforts of his La Salle professors and the foundations which the Christian Brothers laid in encouraging us to use our skills and talents in service of the public good.” He added, “Biden has trust in Ambassador Burns to present him with the facts and unbiased analysis of the facts as far as they are known. Ambassador Burns also has the finesse and diplomatic skills to rebuild relations with other leaders of the intelligence services, both at home and abroad.” “La Salle’s History department congratulates Bill on his CIA director nomination under President-elect Biden,” Stuart Leibiger, chair of the history department added. “We would also like to thank him for the assistance he has provided to our faculty and students over the years. Our department has a rich tradition of nurturing intellectual growth and molding successful leaders in countless professions. We take pride in the accomplishments of our alumni and are confident that Bill will continue to represent La Salle and the Department of History well in his new position.”

abbateb2@lasalle.edu

La Salle’s COVID-19 Policy

News

Kylie McGovern, Editor

Header Image: WikiMedia Commons

Beginning Jan. 14, Explorers began moving on to campus with restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. La Salle and other universities in Philadelphia will take steps to ensure the safety of those on campus this semester. Changes and new rules have been instituted regarding dining services, use of recreational facilities and walking around campus. All of these measures function within Pennsylvania’s ordinances for the pandemic, as well Philadelphia’s guidelines.

La Salle Dining has increased their cleaning protocols in areas where food is prepared. All equipment utilized in cleaning and sanitation, including dishwashers, glass cleaners, chemical dispensers, etc. are checked multiple times for correct temperatures, concentrations and functionality to ensure cleanliness in the kitchen. The dining staff received hand hygiene training, an increased schedule of mandatory handwashing and instructions on the appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves. In addition, the dining services have provided students and guests with more handwashing stations, hand sanitizer, ‘no-touch’ service options, targeted signage and communication to promote hand hygiene. Signage, floor graphics and traffic flow patterns are in place to encourage social distancing. Where allowed, socially distanced seating areas are also established and maintained. In spaces with increased close contact and areas where social distancing is not always possible, the University has installed plexiglass as an enhanced layer of protection. In addition, the dining sidekick app is now in use. Students can use the app to place a mobile order rather than dining in person. In addition, more hours have been added to dining areas to promote social distancing. A Good Uncle food truck has also arrived on campus and is delivering orders placed through an app to drop off areas around campus.

Currently, the only recreational offerings are on a reservation basis at the IBC Fitness Center on South Campus. The center is closed on Saturdays. To reserve a spot, students should visit www.imleagues.com and create an account. Students will then be able to reserve a spot to use the facilities. On the website, users must select the area(s) they wish to use and can only use those area(s) during their session. Club sports and intramural programs are not currently being offered.

As for around campus, face masks must be worn in all indoor settings on campus including classrooms, laboratories, common spaces in residence halls and apartment living, restrooms, dining halls and all other university buildings, including offices and the library. Face masks and physical distancing are required while walking throughout campus.

mcgovernk8@lasalle.edu

President Hanycz to leave La Salle for Xavier

News

Rita Offutt, Editor

On Monday, Jan. 11 the La Salle community received an email notice from the Chairman of La Salle’s Board of Trustees, William Matthews, stating that Colleen Hanycz was named the 35th president of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hanycz, the first lay woman to lead the university, has been La Salle’s president since 2015. She is set to leave La Salle at the end of the academic year and start at Xavier on July 1, 2021.

Hanycz is credited with implementing several substantial initiatives at La Salle, including the “Explorers are never lost” brand campaign. Last year, Hanycz and fellow administrators launched Project Compass, the university’s newest strategic plan. Additionally, under her leadership, the university underwent the 2017-2018 tuition reset and established a new core curriculum. More recently, Hancyz led La Salle’s “Return to Campus” plan and guided the university through the COVID-19 pandemic. Matthews’ email highlighted Hanycz’s stewardship and unwavering commitment to La Salle, ensuring the university community that, “the Board of Trustees will form a Presidential Search Committee…[and will engage] the full La Salle University community in this important process.”

Following Matthews’ notice, Hanycz authored her own letter to the university community. She described her personal relationship with the La Salle community and her decision to move to Xavier, giving special recognition to La Salle’s student body. Hanycz wrote, “The lessons I have learned from the students who we serve in our La Salle family are countless and unforgettable. Lessons about solidarity. Lessons about resilience. Lessons about caring for one another. Lessons about believing in your own capacity for excellence, sometimes against all odds. And, perhaps most importantly of all, lessons about committing to a world that you will leave better than how you found it. I have been profoundly impacted by these women and men and will carry with me forever the memories of our connections.”

Hanycz attended a series of events at Xavier on Monday, Jan. 25 and addressed the campus, asking for prayers from the community and inviting the entire campus to participate in writing Xavier’s next chapter. According to Cincinnati’s Enquirer, “When [Xavier’s current president] learned Hanycz would succeed him, he said he ‘exhaled, in a way.’” The article said the outgoing president said Xavier’s future is “in extraordinary, capable hands.”

Hanycz told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “[she] wasn’t looking to leave La Salle. Her current contract runs to 2024. But she…was recruited for the Xavier job and allowed herself to be considered.”

The Collegian staff extends the best wishes to President Hanycz in her future endeavors.

offuttr1@lasalle.edu