Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:
It's been three weeks since we spent a full day on campus. I am surprised and pleased at the amount of work I am doing from home, seven days a week, and most of my days are filled with Zoom meetings. However, I miss face-to-face interactions with all of you.
At UMD we are much more than meetings, phone calls, and distant encounters, no matter how much work we accomplish through those formats. We are a large community made up of smaller, connected communities who care about each other and care for each other. So, here we all are, sheltered in our homes and other safe spaces as we try our best to keep our University work progressing while we deal with the awful threats of COVID-19. Our sense of caring has had to shift more from the UMD community to caring first for our loved ones and to taking care of ourselves. But the UMD community is still here, even though it has temporarily changed, and I look forward to being with you again as soon as possible.
We are in the final month of the spring semester, which even under normal circumstances is filled with a mix of deadlines, stresses, and accomplishments. Even though these April challenges are heightened this year given the current circumstances, I continue to be amazed and grateful for how our campus community has responded with flexibility, collaboration, and compassion. Thank you.
As President Gabel mentioned in her message Monday, we are always looking ahead while we continue to address immediate needs related to COVID-19. I have a few UMD updates for you here as we look forward to summer.
Summer Courses:
All summer undergraduate and graduate courses will be conducted through alternative instruction. Over the last few years, UMD has transitioned to offering most of our summer classes online, so this is not a significant change for us. Many students have already registered for summer classes knowing they would be offered online. We will use our normal A-F grading format, with pre-existing opportunities for students to select S/N grading. Information regarding your options and regulations can be found at OneStop.
Summer Orientation:
UMD’s Orientation Committee has done good, quick work to migrate our summer orientation and registration program for new students to an online format. This will include a multi-phase virtual program with webinars, online information sessions, small group advising and registration, and student leader one-on-one conversations and small group chats.
Summer Activities:
We will continue to follow guidance from President Gabel based on input she receives from the Minnesota Department of Health and from Governor Walz. Given that things change quickly, for the time being we are not making blanket decisions to cancel, reschedule, or change the format of other summer activities. We will keep you informed if cancellations are made.
You can also find on-going COVID-19 information and resources at the following:
- University of Minnesota COVID-19 stories, insights and expertise
- UMD COVID-19 website
- Systemwide Safe Campus COVID-19 website.
Please be safe and take care of yourselves as we work through this pandemic together.
Sincerely,
Lendley C. Black
Chancellor
Chancellor
