With academic continuity underway through remote instruction for the remainder of the spring semester for both our Vermont and California campuses, as well as the Schools Abroad, we have now turned our attention to plans for Middlebury’s summer academic programs. Our summer schools and programs provide our undergraduate and graduate students with expansive opportunities, and we want to continue as many of them as we can for the 2,000-plus who typically take advantage of them.
It is important for all of us to make a plan should we or a member of our family become sick from COVID-19. This message is especially relevant for those staff in Vermont deemed essential since they have continued to work on campus. We ask that supervisors of essential staff make sure to share this information with their employees.
We want to follow up on David Provost’s recent email regarding the impact of COVID-19 on Middlebury’s finances. As David described, the impact is significant, and it will affect every department throughout our operations. Working through so many big questions, our top priorities continue to be wage and academic continuity.
These past weeks, seniors have been on my mind. Many have written to me with news of their alternative plans on the April occasions where they usually gather—Earth Day, Passover, Easter, or the celebration of spring. (Thank you for writing and keep doing so!) I also spoke with one senior, Kenshin Cho, about his experience of “alternative” life on Middlebury’s campus in this extraordinary time. Kenshin is the Student Government Association treasurer, and we discussed the SGA’s inspired decision to donate the remainder of its funds this year to help with our efforts towards wage continuity. You can see and hear our conversation here.
Like most of us, you’re probably feeling pent up and tired of not getting out to socialize with friends and family, especially as the weather gets nicer. We’re all missing many things we love these days. But we also hope you’re aware that the social distancing so many of us have been practicing is starting to produce glimmers of hope that we may be flattening the curve.
We write to let you know that a Middlebury staff member in Vermont has notified the College that they have tested positive for COVID-19. Our colleague, who has been off campus, is recuperating in isolation at home and is reported to be doing well. This is the first positive employee test result in the Middlebury College community.
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.
