Cooperation, Careful Planning Drive Successful Reactivation Efforts

Following a carefully coordinated return to campus and an initial period of remote learning during Connecticut's mandated two-week quarantine, just two students and three employees at Wesleyan have tested positive for COVID-19 to date this fall. The low positivity rate, well under 0.1% of the entire campus population and tracked regularly on Wesleyan's COVID-19 dashboard, reflects the care and planning that have gone into preparing the campus for the fall semester, as well as commendable adherence to safety protocols by the Wesleyan campus community. More than 15,000 tests have already been conducted. "Our positivity rate on campus is lower than…

When the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted in-person classes last spring, several faculty found innovative and creative ways to adapt to online teaching and learning. In the first of a fall-semester series, we'll be highlighting ways faculty from various departments are coping with teaching during a pandemic, and showcase individual ways courses are thriving in an online or hybridized environment. In this issue, we spotlight Naho Maruta from the College of East Asian Studies; Alison O’Neil from the Chemistry Department; and Ron Jenkins from the Theater Department. Naho Maruta, associate professor of the practice in East Asian studies, chose to teach her…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the university community was under a quarantine period from Aug. 24 to Sept. 6. Students were asked to take a COVID-19 test prior to leaving home, were tested again upon arrival, and will be tested twice a week as the semester gets underway. Through multiple platforms, including Zoom and Moodle, faculty taught all classes remotely during the first week. Following the quarantine period, faculty have the option to teach courses entirely online, in-person, or through a hybrid system through the Thanksgiving break, after which all faculty are prepared to return to distance learning.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and state regulations, Wesleyan is delivering its annual Orientation Program virtually through live Zoom meetings, townhalls, and webinars. Orientation activities began in mid-July, where members of the Class of 2024 and transfer students participated in sessions on charting a course through the open curriculum, sustainability at Wesleyan, wellness, financial aid, student employment, career center information, and working with an academic peer advisor. They also learned the Wesleyan fight song and participated in virtual social events including a virtual escape room, Jeopardy!, drag race bingo, and a magic show. Sudbury, Mass. resident Sabrina Ladiwala ’24 chose…

This summer, 12 Wesleyan students who identify as first-generation/low-income learned more about research methods and proposal-writing through the first McNair Bootcamp. Held in conjunction with Wesleyan's Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Program and the Wesleyan Mathematics and Science Scholars (WesMaSS) Program, the bootcamp provided a solution for summer research students who were unable to transition their in person research projects into remote research during the COVID-19 pandemic. "You certainly don't want students doing organic chemistry in their kitchens back home," said bootcamp co-founder Erika Taylor, associate professor of chemistry. "Many types of research aren't able to be translated to 'virtual research'…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wesleyan is taking many measures to make the campus experience this fall as safe and healthy as possible for all students, faculty, and staff. In addition to testing students twice weekly for COVID-19, Wesleyan is configuring classrooms, dining areas, and other locations to allow for a minimum of six feet of social distance; janitorial staff is frequently disinfecting and sanitizing areas; and many classes are being offered as a hybrid of in-classroom and online instruction. Members of the campus community are expected to wear a mask or face covering at all times outside their individual residence…

Last March, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to plague the United States, Dr. Amy Fogelman '97 became engrossed in the country's lack of understanding about the virus, and even more so in the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. "At certain hospitals in Massachusetts masks were required, but in others, physicians were told that they were not allowed to wear masks, even if they personally supplied them, because administrators were afraid that the masks would 'scare' the patients," Fogelman recalls. "I watched as my colleagues on social media shared their fears for their lives, and their patients’ lives,…

Following a March move to remote learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wesleyan has released a detailed set of plans and launched a new Reactivating Campus website, which will serve as a key information hub for the campus community, as the University prepares to reopen to in-person instruction for the 2020 fall semester. Wesleyan announced in mid-June that it intended to resume in-person classes on Aug. 31, pending the ongoing recommendations of University, state, and federal health and safety experts. With a promising current public health trajectory in Connecticut and in Middletown, the University’s pandemic planning group is continuing to…

With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in February, and as doctors and scientists intensified their search for ways to stymie the virus, it quickly became clear to Michele Gershberg ’95 that her already challenging job was about to get even more complicated. As the U.S. health editor for the Reuters news agency, Gershberg leads a team of eight reporters covering health and scientific innovation, as well as the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. “It runs the whole gamut,” Gershberg said. “We are part of a larger global team of health and pharma industry reporters, with reporters…

Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 announced in an all-campus message on Monday, June 15, that the University plans to resume in-person classes in the fall, pending the ongoing recommendations of University, state, and federal health and safety experts. "Given the current public health trajectory for Connecticut, we are hoping to welcome most students, faculty, and staff back to Middletown in safe conditions in late August," President Roth wrote. "One thing we are certain about: it will be good to be together again—safely—on campus." Roth noted that the coming semester will look different than those of the past because of the…

Despite the effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on much of the population, a recent alumnus' addiction and wellness recovery program continues to offer essential services and compassion for local residents in need. Patricelli Center Fellow and Posse Veteran Scholar Lance Williams '20 created his program, Follow Me Home, in 2017. Based at the Trinity Episcopal Church in nearby Portland, Conn., Follow Me Home partners with local mental health care providers, recovery treatment facilities, and other community-based organizations to provide Follow Me Home Fellows with the infrastructure to build their social networks and recovery capital. "As [the state reopens], there are…

Alford “Al” Young Jr. ’88 is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Sociology and professor of Afroamerican and African studies at the University of Michigan. Young’s research focuses on low-income, urban-based African Americans, African American scholars and intellectuals, and the classroom-based experiences of higher-education faculty as they pertain to diversity and multiculturalism. In this Q&A, Young addresses the severity of the COVID-19 crisis for black Americans, particularly in Michigan. Michigan is ranked fourth in the country for having the most coronavirus-related deaths (4,915+). How has COVID-19 affected your research interests? Alford "Al" Young Jr.: I have spent…

Cooperation, Careful Planning Drive Successful Reactivation Efforts

Faculty Share Insights on Teaching during a Pandemic

Classes Begin Online during Quarantine Period

Class of 2024 Attends Virtual Orientation Program

Students Accelerate Their Research Skills through New Summer Bootcamp

Wesleyan Takes Safety Measures as Students Arrive on Campus

Wesleyan Alumni, Students Take Action during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Wesleyan Releases Detailed Plans for Campus Reactivation

Gershberg ’95 Plays Key Role in Reuters’s Pandemic Coverage

Wesleyan Announces Initial Plans to Reactivate Campus in the Fall

Williams ’20 Raises Funds to Deliver Care Packages to Congregate Care Settings

Young ’88 Addresses the Severity of the COVID-19 Crisis for Black Americans