December 2020: My gratitude to you

亲爱的DU社区:

I want to express my deep gratitude to you. In a profoundly challenging year, 你的工作, care 和 commitment to our community has been inspiring, heartwarming 和 uplifting.

最重要的是, 我相信 we accomplished what we set out to do: give 我们的学生 the best possible educational experience during a time defined by uncertainty 和 anxiety. It was not easy, but the strength of this incredible community made it possible.

Our faculty deployed new technology 和 pedagogical techniques to teach in different modalities while still maintaining their scholarly 和 creative work. Our staff guided our challenging budget year, collected 和 analyzed data, supported 我们的学生 in the residence halls, cleaned 和 disinfected all our working spaces 和 so much more. 和 我们的学生 adapted to a new learning environment 和 difficult restrictions on how they gather 和 socialize.

I want to give a special shout-out to our governance groups, which nimbly pivoted to help keep DU up 和 running during the p和emic. 教师参议院, 员工谘询委员会, 和 our undergraduate 和 graduate student governments all met frequently, distributed surveys 和 engaged in meaningful debate—all of this on top of their regular work 和 studies. 向你们大家致敬. What we have learned from the past few months will guide the plans for our return to campus 和 in-person learning for the winter term. This work is already underway.

和, while we are still gathering complete data from the past few months, 最初的数字, 我相信, tell a compelling story:

  • Since July 31, DU administered nearly 30,000 tests for novel coronavirus.
  • 75 percent of our community opted into Everbridge, our digital contact tracing app.
  • Student Affairs 和 Inclusive Excellence held over 400 events for students to socialize safely.
  • Our dining services delivered over 3,000 meals to students in isolation 和 quarantine.
  • We distributed over 6,000 DU crimson masks.

I would also like to recognize that what you have accomplished was not met without hardship or sacrifice. For some, this year has meant more work with less compensation. For many, balancing work, family, 和 caring for others has stretched you thin. 给你, 我们的学生, I want to acknowledge that you sacrificed parts of the college experience you had been looking forward to for many years. 我希望, even with the changes required to keep our community safe, you found connection 和 friendship on campus. For all these reasons 和 more, as we enter this time in between the fall 和 winter terms, I urge all of us to take time to unplug, 充电和恢复.

This fall will go down in the history books, but what 我希望 we remember most of all is how this community came together to contribute 和 keep one another safe.

再次感谢你. May the coming weeks be filled with hope, joy, 和 rejuvenation. (和 the launch of a vaccine distribution wouldn’t hurt either.)

最好的，
杰里米•哈伊弗纳
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