Wittenberg Community,
As we begin a new week at Wittenberg, I want to commend each of you for your hard work, flexibility, dedication, and concern for our students and each other during this unprecedented time in our lives and in our world. None of the decisions we have had to make to date have been easy, but they were all made in response to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ohio Department of Health, federal agencies, and Governor DeWine, and with the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff in mind.
Senior staff is meeting daily to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for higher education and for our campus in particular. As of today, we are providing limited essential services designed primarily to support students’ continued progress toward their academic learning objectives. We must focus our energy and efforts at this critical time on the delivery of our academic program using a remote form of instruction. I want to thank Provost Mattson and the faculty for their leadership in taking the necessary steps this week to accomplish this goal in time for our students to resume their studies on March 23. As shared last week, the earliest we will return to on-campus instruction is April 6.
Earlier today, you also received a message from HR Director Mary Beth Walter reminding all employees to work with their respective supervisors to create a plan to perform their jobs remotely. The senior team recognizes that this may present challenges for some in our community, so please let your area vice president know of those challenges immediately so they can be addressed. I want to reiterate that for your health and safety, and for those with whom you work, no one should be working in-person on campus unless absolutely necessary. For hourly staff, we will be providing additional information about how to report your time tomorrow. For student workers, we are currently re-assessing which positions will continue during this disruption.
At this time, we have postponed all student- and community-related events through at least April 5 and moved Witt Fest to the fall. In addition, a majority of facilities on campus are closed, including the Health, Wellness and Athletics Center per direction from Governor DeWine Those campus facilities that are open are limited to students, faculty, and staff only. The Student Center is open only for meal pick-up for those students on a meal plan. Thomas Library will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The Campus Cupboard is also open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
We will continue to keep you updated, and I would again encourage you to consult the COVID-19 Health Advisory website for the latest information and resources.
Thank you again for all that you are doing to support our students and colleagues. We must continue to navigate these uncharted waters together, and I appreciate your compassion and partnership in ensuring that we do.
Best regards,
Michael L. Frandsen, Ph.D.
President