Welcome to the final week of our summer term. Next week, our official opening of the 2020 fall term will commence with our annual Engagement Sessions on Monday, August 31, from 8:30-11:45 a.m. I look forward to seeing you all there, either virtually or in person, as your input at this event is critical in helping shape Stout’s ten-year strategic plan—FOCUS2030. The virtual opening session will be held via Teams and may be accessed using this link.
For many of you, next week may also be your first time back to the university since our spring semester shift to remote instruction and to a mostly locked campus. I am looking forward to seeing you and our students, as campus is simply not the same without all of you. As you will experience when you return to campus, or even if you are working remotely, we have made significant physical and procedural changes to help navigate the complex landscape we are experiencing. The past six months have shown us that this landscape will continue to change, and consequently I will continue to call on the university community, and partner with the local community in order to address challenges and chart our path forward.
I was pleased many of you were able to attend our employee forum yesterday, as well as the other eight held during the summer months, to learn more about fall planning and bring some of your questions and concerns forward. If you were unable to attend, you can watch a recording that will be accessible from the Faculty & Staff portal in a few days. People have also contributed feedback and participated in planning through the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee that includes all governance leaders, the entire Faculty Senate Finance Committee, and other representatives from across campus; the more than twenty, campus-wide, planning subcommittees; summer meetings of program directors and department chairpersons; governance leadership meetings, etc.; quite literally, hundreds of people have been involved in preparing the university for fall semester. As always, you are invited to send your questions or concerns to COVID-19update@uwstout.edu.
We have all worked very hard to prepare for next week’s opening by developing courses in a variety of modalities, guiding operations amidst current uncertainties, adapting our policies and procedures to address current circumstances, and striving to meet every measure of safety possible so we can welcome back our employees and students to campus.
Even in times as difficult as these, it is important to celebrate the successes of what we have accomplished together. Many, many people have worked incredibly hard to prepare for fall, and I ask for your help in making sure that everyone is recognized for their efforts. As I am unable to personally thank everyone, I ask that you please reach out to at least one colleague during the next few weeks and commend them for their efforts. We are very fortunate to be a part of such a dedicated university community. We should all be extremely proud of what we have accomplished together during the summer and take a moment to celebrate these achievements.
I experienced such a moment on Sunday afternoon when I was on campus to extend a welcome to our incoming Stoutward Bound students. Being able to meet with students in person was wonderful; they are excited to be here and ready to start their college experience, even though they recognize that it will be different than it would have been pre-COVID. Stoutward Bound peer mentors were energized to be back on campus and spoke eloquently about why they love our institution and what it has meant to them as students and individuals. As I was leaving the
MSC, one of our colleagues in dining told me how fulfilling it was to see cars in the parking lot and students on campus. “We have been planning for this all summer,” she said. “We are ready for students to return.”
Are there uncertainties? Of course there are. Are there possibilities that we cannot anticipate? Our experiences so far have confirmed that there are. Do people view the start of fall semester in different ways, prompting a variety of responses and questions? Indeed.
University of Wisconsin campuses are scheduled to welcome students back from September 2 through September 9. We have all prepared throughout the summer to foster the safest learning and living experience possible, and we will continue to monitor our progress and respond accordingly as we progress through fall semester. Nothing about this experience has been easy for anyone and fall semester will have its challenges. Recognizing this, it is critical that we continue to treat each other with dignity and respect, support our students, remain strong community partners, and all work together to foster a successful learning experience for our students.
With gratitude,
Katherine P. Frank
Chancellor