Campus life photos courtesy of the Merciad and MAC/SAC
BACK IN PERSON While the spring pivot to remote learning was quick and largely successful, the consensus was clear: If there was a way to safely bring students back to campus, that’s what we would do. Dr. Laura Zirkle, who supervised the efort as Mercyhurst’s chief pandemic ofcer, noted, “It was important for Mercyhurst to be who we are. Such a big part of what Mercyhurst is comes from being together on campus.” Countless modifcations had to be made in pursuit of that goal. Special credit goes to the President and his Cabinet and members of the COVID Task Force chaired by Zirkle: Dr. Judy Smith, Sue Sweeney, Andy Simon-Wambach, Jamie Breneman, and Ryan Palm. But virtually every crafting a new academic calendar to limit student travel • analyzing every classroom on campus to set capacity limits and furniture layouts • devising new trafc patterns throughout campus to minimize physical contact • posting prominent signage everywhere to remind everyone how to “Curb COVID” • upgrading technology to facilitate remote study and work • establishing and communicating health and safety protocols • training our own team of contract tracers to monitor any COVID cases on campus • creating isolation and quarantine plans • converting dining service to increase to-go options • implementing enhanced cleaning and disinfecting strategies • and so much more! Mercyhurst employee was involved in some way. Consider just a few of the tasks they confronted: •
THE ONLINE PIVOT Within three days last spring, faculty members learned the fne points of Blackboard and Teams and converted more than 1,200 class sections into online courses. Virtual support services, from academic advising to tutoring, were ofered to students now scattered across the nation, and the world. The Ofce of Distance Learning, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and lots of faculty volunteers mobilized to ensure that faculty members – even those who’d seldom used online tools before – were ready. The IT staf jumped in to make sure both faculty and students had access to the technology they’d need to fnish out the semester, fnding solutions for students who lacked computers or reliable internet service. Provost Dr. Leanne Roberts said, “It was inspiring to watch our faculty and support services personnel turn toward one common goal. They simply
In the following pages, check out just a few examples of how Mercyhurst
turned toward each other and started moving.”
adapted during this crisis.
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