March 23-30, 2020
Dear Students,
The last two weeks are unprecedented to anything we have experienced before. As a result of constantly shifting directives in response to the increasingly serious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all been displaced from our dorm rooms, apartments, studios, and offices. Today, as we officially begin the delivery of the final half of the semester online, we have questions about how (and if) the technology will function as intended. For some, both here and Rochester and all around the world. we have questions about access to instruments on which to practice. Among these and many other questions, we continue to strive to find the answers and solutions. It has been a stressful and anxious time.
It has also been two weeks in which the character of this community has shown brightly. I have witnessed staff members working nearly around the clock answering every question asked of them, working through countless issues, and striving to keep us all safe. I have witnessed faculty members attending numerous technology training sessions in person and online to ensure they are prepared and ready to begin online learning, and others assisting one-on-one to mentor a colleague with less technology experience. Faculty members have been contacting students personally to check on their physical and emotional well-being and standing in front of computer screens teaching lessons. And I have witnessed students moving out of their dorms and apartments—some of them donning commencement gowns and taking pictures in front of the school—and many saying goodbye long before they had planned to do so.
The coronavirus has disrupted almost everything we do, and it has driven us apart, geographically. Yet, in many ways, it has brought us even closer together as a community. I am so proud of the way our Eastman community has come together to face this challenge and inspired by the valiant efforts of so many. I am thinking of you all as we embark on a new frontier today, and am praying that we will find the good, and humor wherever possible, as well as positive experiences as we take this journey together.
My best to you all,
Jamal Rossi
Joan and Martin Messinger Dean
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