Wittenberg Faculty and Staff:
A lot of focus and attention over the last, COVID-19 affected days has been on the moment. How do we pivot to remote instruction? When will students move out? How do we move to working remotely and who keeps working on campus? When will this end?
The last question is still impossible to answer. That means there is some uncertainty about how we will operate this summer, and even next fall. We are thinking and talking about multiple scenarios in our Senior Staff discussions, and engaging faculty and staff in specific areas of planning. We need to be prepared both for a return to “normal” at some point and also for this disruption to persist. How should we move ahead and what should we say to others (ex. prospective students)?
What I would say, and ask you to say, is as follows:
- We will continue to be guided by all directives designed to keep people safe and healthy.
- We will continue to rely on guidance from local, state, and federal governments.
- Summer session classes will be offered only via remote learning. We are hoping that we will be able to have summer research experiences, Hagen Center internships, and similar learning opportunities on campus, but still have many details to consider before finalizing that decision.
- We are preparing as if we will be teaching classes on campus again starting as scheduled for fall semester.
- That all is subject to change (see #1 and #2), and we will prepare for that as well.
- We will continue to share information as it is available.
Thank you for all you are doing for Wittenberg and each other in this difficult time. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy.
Best regards,
Michael L. Frandsen, Ph.D.
President