Dear Bates Faculty and Staff,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tomorrow we head into our first week of teaching our\nstudents remotely and into yet another week of continual adjustment to this new\nand strange reality. This experience is stressful and disorienting for\neveryone, and it seems that we will be living with it for a while. I wanted to take\nthis moment, therefore, to thank all of you for your diligence and generosity\nas we work together to respond as circumstances require. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faculty, I know that you have been hard at work over the\npast ten days preparing to convene your classes remotely. This unexpected\nproject, landing on you and your students two-thirds of the way through the\nsemester, has required a great deal of thought and effort, for which I am\ndeeply grateful. I also know that you have been working together to figure out\nhow we can be flexible and equitable with our students, who will face varying difficulties\nin adjusting to these new modes of learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When classes go live tomorrow, I am sure that we will\nencounter challenges and frustrations, as the entire education universe \u2013\nkindergarten through graduate school \u2013 moves to remote learning at once. I am\nso grateful to our Academic Affairs and Information and Library Services\ncolleagues who have been working very hard this past week to assist faculty as\nthey adapt their courses. As always, they stand ready to troubleshoot any\nissues that may arise when classes resume tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the sudden conversion of our entire academic program,\nthis public health crisis has touched every staff member at Bates and every dimension\nof our work together. I am deeply moved by the spirit with which staff and\nfaculty across this campus have acted quickly to figure out how to carry out\ntheir own duties under changed circumstances \u2013 whether through working\nremotely, adapting to new schedules, or, while on campus, taking extra care to\nkeep themselves and their co-workers healthy and safe. More impressive still is\nthe way so many of you have gone above and beyond your daily tasks to assist\nwith the new kinds of work generated by the COVID-19 situation itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staff from across campus volunteered last weekend to work in our \u201cstudent assistance bureau\u201d to help students figure out packing and storage, arrange travel, or solve visa problems. Staff in Dining and Events, Facility Services, and Student Affairs have come together to develop a plan for supporting the students who will remain on campus until the end of the semester. Science faculty have partnered with Facility Services colleagues to respond to a call from local hospitals for lab supplies, such as gloves and hand sanitizer, that can be adapted for medical use. And the Bates Communications Office has worked around the clock to make sure that we share fast-evolving information promptly and factually and communicate policy decisions to everyone affected. These are but a few examples of the exceptional generosity that has been on display in recent days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I literally cannot say \u201cthank you\u201d enough, and I cannot\noveremphasize the need for all of you to do your best to take care of\nyourselves and your families in the face of these challenges. This is an\nunprecedented event that fosters tremendous anxiety and brings each and every\none of us face to face with profound uncertainty, with worry for loved ones,\nand with dislocation in all aspects of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we hunker down for the weeks ahead, I hope that there are\nmoments of joy and humor to be found in this different kind of time that has\nopened up for us, however unplanned. Some of you, I know, already find yourselves\njuggling frantically to work from home, while also caring for young children, trying\nyour hand at home-schooling, keeping your household together, and tending to\nloved ones who may be vulnerable. For others this will be a quieter time, when you\nwill spend more hours alone or with family than you have in your entire life.\nWhere boredom and isolation, rather than busyness, become the problems we\nmanage around. Where nature becomes a treat to be cherished after hours cooped\nup on screens. Where our hunger for human connection becomes a reality so\npresent that we are less inclined \u2013 forever \u2013 to take a friend or a loved one\nfor granted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, even as we may be more physically separated from one\nanother, please remember to reach out to the people you cherish, especially\nthose for whom this time may pose particular difficulties. And be sure to take\ncare of your minds, bodies, and spirits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life and work, as we knew them, have been radically\nrearranged for the time being, but we are a strong community, and I know that\nthe grace and caring that make us who we are every day will carry us through\ntogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All my best, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clayton <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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