Dear Colleagues,

Our upcoming Town Hall on December 13 from 12:15PM – 1:45PM will address campus vibrancy and will provide an update on implementation of the Business Plan. Additional information on the location of the meeting and the Zoom link for those joining remotely are at the bottom of this email.  

Let me focus on campus vibrancy in this update. We are finally past the crisis stage of the pandemic and moving into a new phase where we have the opportunity to take what we’ve learned and create policies and systems that reflect and support how we learn, work, and live now. 

We are preparing to transition beyond the following COVID-era academic policies possibly as early as the spring 2023 semester:

• Blended Synchronous Format: The quasi-mandatory “blended synchronous” teaching format for virtually all classes (in order to accommodate both on-ground and online students).
• Remote Degrees: The promise to new students who begin their degrees remotely that they can finish remotely.
• Physical Presence: The reduced physical presence requirement for regular and visiting faculty (from 45 days/semester to 22.5 days/semester). 

All of these are interrelated and have a significant impact on how we attract and enroll new students, teaching and learning and where we live and work.

Your perspectives and insights are critical to informing these important decisions.

Please share your feedback by 12/9.

I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Town Hall.

JDJ