Monday news
Greetings, Deac families. I am hopeful the gremlins plaguing the Daily Deac email service are solved. I am trying to send between 5-7 pm, but if that doesn’t work I’ll try 7-9 pm and then 9-11 pm. Reminder that you can always check dailydeac.wfu.edu.
Last week, our wonderful Dean of the Divinity School, Jonathan Walton, shared some reflections on hard times. You can watch it here. If you have a few minutes, I highly recommend it. Dean Walton has been an incredible addition to our campus leadership. We are fortunate to have him.
The big news on campus is that an email went out today to students, faculty, staff, and parents/families with an update on the rest of the semester, and the important issues of Commencement, move-out from the residence halls, and refunds; read it here.
I know you might want details on all of these things – and on behalf of my colleagues manning the call center this week (from 9 am-5 pm Eastern, 336-758-7500), let me say that a lot of the specifics of these plans are being worked out as we speak. I will hit a couple of the big questions here:
On the issue of refunds, individual circumstances vary (including variations in housing and meal costs), thus refunds must be calculated individually for each undergraduate student. And there are about 5,000 undergraduates, which is going to take time. Please know details will be sent out by April 17th and we thank you in advance for your patience.
On the issue of Commencement, I know the P’20s want to know what that looks like: when will it happen, where, etc. Be assured that a decision will be made with great care and in alignment with public health guidance. Commencement plans are complex even in the best of times, and they are made even more complicated by the evolving public health crisis. Again, we appreciate your patience. Seniors, be on the lookout for an important survey related to your postponed in-person Commencement experience.
On the issue of moving out of residence halls, by April 30th we’ll give students an update on the plans for moving out. Once again, given the rapidly changing public health situation, these plans will take time and may change; our goal in developing these plans is to keep our campus community safe. We have nearly 4,000 resident students, so our plans need to take those numbers into account.
I have said this to many of my friends over the past few weeks: universities are incredibly complex and interconnected ecosystems. Even having gone here as a student and having worked here for 20 years, the past few weeks have been a real education for me. The tactical, operational issues that coronavirus affects reminds me of the old Greek myth of the Hydra, the nine-headed sea monster (with one of the heads being immortal). If you cut off one of the heads, two would grow back in its place. It feels like that some days.
I guess I just want you to know that we are on this. But it’s complicated :)
Two new resources for your students: 1) Here For You website, which is for students living on campus, and 2) ways to Thrive Remotely, which is for all students. These websites have additional links and ideas for how students can take care of themselves wherever they are.
Most important of all, I want you and your Deacs to be safe, and I want that for our students on campus and our colleagues as well.
— by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (’92, MA ’94)