As we begin our second week of remote learning at the undergraduate College, and our third week at the Institute, I write with a financial overview. Many of you have asked me about the impact of COVID-19 on Middlebury’s financial position and our ability to weather the pandemic. In this letter I set out to answer those questions and communicate two additional things: that the road we are on is a most difficult one and could be for weeks and possibly months ahead, and to ask for your understanding as we make decisions in an incredibly fluid environment.
One of the few certainties we are experiencing in the global coronavirus pandemic is the uncertainty it has brought to so many aspects of our lives. To help you understand what is happening at the College—and its impact on you as students and families, faculty and staff—we have operated on this assumption: That we can’t over-communicate with you in an environment that is so fluid, with things happening so quickly and, too often, tragically.
International Student and Scholar Services is thinking about you as you begin to settle into your new routines for the remainder of spring term 2020. We hope you are safe and healthy as we all find new ways of studying, working, and taking care of ourselves in these unprecedented times.
We write today to follow up on President Patton’s recent email that mentioned the College’s work to support the community. As part of this effort, the College will provide urgently needed temporary housing for a small number of University of Vermont Health Network/Porter Medical Center employees, maximizing safety for all members of the College community.
As we wind down spring break and head into the second half of a semester in which we are trying something completely new, we thought it was a good time to share an overview of our work with the entire community. My guess is that in your reading about the COVID-19 pandemic, many of you have come across the phrase “social distancing does not mean social isolation.” This past week has brought us a number of ways in which we are trying to realize that statement. I believe we are doing it with the values and dispositions that I have come to think of as distinctly Middlebury: integrity, rigor, connectedness, curiosity, and openness.
As you may know, late this afternoon Governor Scott issued a new Executive Order titled “Stay Home/Stay Safe” that will take effect at 5:00 pm tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25. The order states that many Vermont businesses must suspend in-person business operations, except for “businesses and entities providing services or functions deemed critical to public health and safety.”
It feels like we have been managing the issues connected to the COVID-19 pandemic for months, and to some degree we have been. But our challenges accelerated 13 days ago when we decided to start spring break early and make plans to teach remotely. We know all of you have been scrambling to figure out how to teach remotely. Thank you for these efforts, which have required you to completely rethink how you have done your job for a year, or how you have done it for years or decades. This has been challenging for all of us.
We continue to process the impacts of social distancing on our operations. Our recent decisions mean that many individuals are now working remotely, and others, while working on campus, are working in new ways that further social distancing. In light of these changes and given our intent to ensure pay continuity for our existing staff for as long as possible, we do not believe this is the time to add new employees to our workforce.
