An Update from President Darrin Good
Dear Nebraska Wesleyan University Community,
You are vital members of our Nebraska Wesleyan family, so I want to share with you how our campus community is responding to COVID-19.
On March 12, we made the very difficult decision to move the remainder of our spring semester to a distance learning modality. As this disease spread, we faced more difficult but important decisions: to cancel activities and events including alumni gatherings across the country and to postpone one of the greatest days of any academic year, commencement. We have closed our buildings, have moved all but a couple dozen students out of the residence halls and Greek houses and have provided the necessary resources for nearly all of our employees to work virtually. We are operational because of the hard work from our faculty and staff and their devotion to our students. Our community has risen to the occasion as we continue to offer the personalized student experience that has always defined us. Our commitment to the Nebraska Wesleyan mission never stops.
These decisions were not taken lightly nor without deep reflection and wise discernment of the best data sources. Our leadership team, faculty, staff and board of governors have helped us move decisively in the best interest of Nebraska Wesleyan and the broader community. No different than how we ask our liberal arts students to attack complex problems, we used a multi-disciplinary approach to our problem-solving. We also had the advantage of seeing the crisis unfold in other parts of the country and following the best practices exhibited by colleges and universities in those areas.
You know the joy and fulfillment that comes with person-to-person interactions at Nebraska Wesleyan. Students’ relationships with their friends, professors, coaches and mentors will shape their NWU memories. Therefore, our student experiences are at the center of each decision. We are asking them to think about this time as one of “physical distancing” rather than “social distancing.” We are working hard to create social connectedness in new and different ways to help sustain the bonds of the Wesleyan community.
The Administrative Council in consultation with the university’s Pandemic Assessment Committee, our Board of Governors, the Lincoln–Lancaster County Health Department and state and national guidelines, ultimately determined that it’s in our best interest—and in the greater community’s best interest—to do our part in slowing the spread of COVID-19. We know that doing so will better protect the health of our students and employees and each of our families.
Our faculty and staff have worked tirelessly around the clock to set up virtual classrooms and redesign courses to ensure that their students receive the education they expect—an education based on excellence, personal attention and rich experiences that make our community so special. Our ongoing commitment to these values is bigger than any pandemic. I know you expect the same of us.
As students “returned to class” this week, I reminded them of the bigger lessons they’ll learn this semester—patience, kindness, perseverance and a greater understanding for their role in society. Each of us needs to take responsibility and do our part to combat this epidemiological crisis. As a member of the Nebraska Wesleyan community, we are holding you and your families in our thoughts and prayers. Personally, I hope you are joining us in this effort.
We’ve been touched by everyone who has reached out during this unprecedented time. Know that we hold you close as you care for yourself and those around you. Please hold us close to your hearts as we hope to resume to normal operations soon.
In closing, I invite you to watch a short message that I shared with our community earlier this week. If you would like to follow our continued response to the COVID-19 crisis, please visit nebrwesleyan.edu/COVID19.
With compassionate solidarity,
Darrin Good