These are unprecedented times at CU and around the world. COVID-19 has drastically altered how we, our families, our friends, and our neighbors live and work every day.
We hope your connection to College Unbound continues to help provide a community of care for you at this time-- through in-depth 1-1’s with your Lab Faculty, peer-sharing with your cohort, in depth discussion on current events within your classes, and a project that is meaningful in your life and the larger world.
If there are times in the weeks ahead where CU pulls you away from the work you need to do in front of you-- childcare, job support, mutual aid, and more-- please know that this is an institution built for YOU and is, at its core, flexible to what you need and the times and ways you may need CU. We will also prioritize supporting one another-- Students, Faculty, and Staff-- as humans with full, rich, and complicated lives as we navigate this together.
And, if there are ways CU can be of use to you differently in this time-- through our curriculum helping to build new networks of care, with access to technology, with support for food or job or housing security, child or elder care resources, we want to be a hub for you to be connected to both the resources that already exist in the world around you and new ones we can create together. Everybody needs support and understanding in this unprecedented moment.
As you know, following the guidance of our state officials, local and state departments of public health, and the CDC, we have decided to deliver both Instructional and Lab courses online for the remainder of the term. We want to take a moment to explain what this transition means, what it doesn’t mean, and what we are still working to figure out.
What stays the same:
- CU will still be “CU”-- Labs meet weekly and your 1-1 with Lab Faculty is still part of the plan so that you have consistent contact with folks around you who care about you and want to support you.
- CU’s curriculum and major in Organizational Leadership & Change was designed to be embedded in your life and connected to the questions you’re engaging with around you. So as your lives change and adjust, so should the content of your work.
- The Big 10 seem even more relevant today. We’ve just released a guide for how to engage with them and share your learning with your CU-mates as we experience radical and rapid personal and professional growth and change.
- You have built a tremendous network through this institution already -- your peers, faculty, mentors -- please continue to learn from and lean on one another in the weeks ahead.
What we are still figuring out:
- Our weekly in person time is now by Google-Meet. We find it important to keep the time to be together even virtually, but we also understand the challenges this creates when balancing a full household and trying to use a webcam.
- When we’re virtual, how can we think about dinners together? What about childcare?
- What are other ways we can be together? We tried happy hour last Friday- should we have cooking classes by GoogleMeet? Meditation each morning?
- How can we continue to foster the beauty of mutual aid into this moment of “social distance”? How do our networks of support evolve?
We are working on answers to these questions as a staff and larger community. We will continue to share with you and invite you to help us think through the answers and challenge us with new questions we don’t even know yet to ask!
Many CU students, faculty, and alumni are the nurses, home care providers, and other healthcare support staff who are deeply involved in and committed to fighting this pandemic. You are the safety net for our city, our state and our country and we are grateful for and proud of your efforts.
Please stay safe and healthy during this crisis, adhere to expert advice and best practice, find ways to support and protect your neighbors. I am proud, as always, of our CU, alumni, and friend community and take comfort in knowing we are in this together. And the school should continue to be a resource to bring us together.
As I’m sure you noticed, we’ve begun texting institutional updates to you to ensure timely and consistent communication. You can also continue to follow CU’s response to the pandemic on our website. Your networks are strong and enduring. Keep reaching out to your Lab Faculty and your cohorts. As always you can also email [email protected]
In love and struggle and always together,
Adam Bush
Provost
Provost