Weather Closure: Monday, February 23 Open or Close Alert Message
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Due to the expected winter storm, the University will close campus Monday, February 23.  We expect to resume normal operations on Tuesday morning. If conditions change, we will share updates promptly.

Campus Services During the Closure

While most in-person activities will pause, essential services will remain available. Public Safety and Facilities will be on campus throughout the storm, and the following services are expected to remain open or staffed:

• Residence Halls (RDs/RAs on duty)
• Dining
• Computer Labs
• Facilities/Housekeeping
• Health Services (TBD by Director)

Students living on campus should expect regular support from Residence Life and Public Safety.

Classes and Work During the Closure

Students
All offices and in-person activities are canceled for the day. In-person classes are canceled but may be held remotely at the discretion of faculty. Faculty will communicate directly, so please check your email and course site for updates. 

Classes that are already scheduled to be fully remote will continue as usual unless otherwise communicated by your instructor. 

Staff
Staff who are able to work remotely should coordinate with supervisors as appropriate. Staff whose work requires on-campus presence should follow supervisor guidance. 

Staying Informed

The University’s Inclement Weather Policy is available on the WNE website via the homepage banner. We will communicate any changes or reopening details through WNE Alert, email, and the University website.

Thank you for your cooperation and flexibility as we work to keep our community safe during the storm.

Heidi Ellis

Heidi Ellis headshot
Computer Science & Information Technology
Professor of Computer Science & Information Technology
207C Herman Hall
Phone: 413-782-1748

Education

BS, Animal Science, University of Connecticut
MS, Computer Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut
PhD, Computer Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut

Background

Dr. Ellis’ research interests include software engineering education, open source software, and tools for biological data analysis. Dr. Ellis is one of the founding members of the Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software (HFOSS) project, which focuses on involving students in FOSS projects that improve the human condition. Dr. Ellis has been PI/Co-PI on five NSF projects that support student involvement in HFOSS projects.

Interests

  • Software engineering education
  • Student Involvement in Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software
  • Student involvement in Computing for Social Good using Open Source Software

Scholarly Works

Journal Articles

Ellis, H.J.C., "Give your students edit access to their course syllabus," chapter in: The Open Organization Workbook - Open Organization Guide for Educators, pp. 118-125, Red Hat, Sep. 2019.

Ellis, H.J.C., Hislop, G.W., Jackson, S., and Postner, L. 2015. Team Project Experiences in Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software (HFOSS). Trans. Comput. Educ. 15, 4, Article 18, Dec. 2015, 23 pages. DOI=http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2684812

Conference Proceedings

Postner, L., Burdge, D., Ellis, H.J.C., Jackson, S., and Hislop, G.W., "Impact of HFOSS Education on Instructors", ACM ITiCSE, Aberdeen, Scotland, July 2019

Postner, L., Ellis, H.J.C., and Hislop, G.W., “Humanitarian Applications Increase Interest and Motivation of Women in Computing,” 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education, SIGCSE '23, Toronto, Canada, Mar. 2023.

Wurst, K., Radkowski, C., Jackson, S., Ellis, H.J.C., Burdge, D., and Postner, L., "LibreFoodPantry: Developing a Multi-Institutional, Faculty-Led, Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software Community," Paper. 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education, SIGCSE '20, Portland, OR, Mar. 2020.

Dziallas, W., Fincher, S., Ellis, H.J.C., Hislop, G.W. and Postner, L. “Adopting a New Practice: Open Source Experiences in the Classroom,” Paper. 2022 Frontiers in Education Conference, Upsala, Sweden, Oct. 2022.

Courses Taught

  • CS 490 Software Engineering
  • CS 492 CS Capstone
  • CS 210 Software Design
  • CS/IT 102 Introduction to Programming
  • LA 100 Freshman Seminar