Dear friends:
When the spring semester got underway in January, I was looking forward to so many different things. In particular, I was already spending a good deal of time preparing for an announcement and event set for April 2 that was to kick off an ambitious and exciting new initiative that’s designed to dramatically strengthen our School of Education over the next decade.
The past several months have certainly been memorable — but for reasons I never anticipated at the start of 2020.
I’m sure the COVID-19 pandemic has altered your lives in significant ways, just as it has transformed the way our School of Education operates.
One day in early March, members of our senior leadership team were pondering how the coronavirus might affect our various operations. Within a week, all in-person meetings were no longer allowed and campus was being shut down to all but essential workers. I started meeting daily via videoconference with both campus leadership and a “Tiger Team” of key individuals from across our School. UW–Madison canceled in-person courses through the remainder of the semester, so we spent spring break quickly transitioning our 400 classes to virtual modes of delivery by March 23. And we did all this while almost 1,000 of our employees were figuring out how to work remotely.
In an effort to see how our young scholars were faring during these stressful times, 190 faculty and staff from across the School conducted Community Wellness Check-ins with all of our students, an effort that was unique to our School. I then held a series of virtual Town Hall meetings the week of May 11 to connect with faculty and staff, and we capped off the semester a week later by producing an online graduation. The Class of 2020 is unlike any other, and despite the COVID-19 crisis it persevered — overcoming a difficult final semester and finishing strong. (And these are only a few of the highlights. You can read about many more of our COVID-19 related efforts in this online edition of Learning Connections).
These efforts were simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating. I am so proud of how hard our faculty and staff worked to make this semester a success.
Yet the pandemic isn’t the only major event grabbing headlines and capturing the attention of our community, the nation — and beyond.
Since late May, many have been protesting the brutal killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others. The racism that permeates our society, the police brutality and violence against Black people, and the persistent white supremacy that infects so many aspects of society are ongoing, horrific, and shameful.
Nonetheless, I am hopeful because of all the people who are protesting, who are rising up, who are so clearly communicating that this cannot go on. I am hopeful because there are so many students, staff, and faculty in the School of Education who are deeply committed to ending the atrocities of anti-black racism and violence in our society, who have devoted their lives and their life’s work toward these ends, and who are leading the way.
In late June, we held our first (virtual) event designed to create a necessary space where all School of Education faculty and staff could engage in critical dialogue around systemic racism. This is but one small step in our efforts to promote racial awareness and to build a more equitable and inclusive learning and working environment in the School. As part of that process, LaVar Charleston, our associate dean for equity, diversity, and inclusion, is planning and hosting events and forums about racial justice.
As you’ve noticed, things have changed for our Learning Connections alumni magazine as well. The pandemic posed a range of issues that kept us from producing a print edition this summer. But it’s important that we remain connected to all of our alumni and friends, so we produced this online-only version. One thing about Learning Connections hasn’t changed: The magazine continues to highlight the high-quality work being done by our faculty, staff, and students across the arts, health, and education.
Such efforts make me incredibly proud of the School of Education — and very hopeful for the future.
And remember that new initiative I was looking forward to announcing in April? While that event was canceled, stay tuned for more news about something we’re calling “Impact 2030” coming soon — much of which is being made possible by alumni and friends just like you.
— Diana Hess