To all SUNY Broome Students:
On behalf of the entire college, I want to thank you for your cooperation and patience as we work through these challenging times. Please bear with us as we work to provide as many classes and services to you at a distance as we can with just a few weeks to get ready. Our faculty and staff have been working tirelessly to get us into position to serve you from both campus and our homes beginning today, March 19, and ramping up significantly by the Monday, March 23rd.
This is a time when having lived through some history, or having studied it, will serve us well. Our country has faced many great challenges since 1776 and even before. For instance, our lifespans have increased significantly thanks to advancements in both medicine and technology, along with advancement in the sciences as well. We live far longer than previous generations due to these advancements, which means we are better suited to tackle this virus than at any time in our history.
Just think of social media alone and how we can use it to stay in touch while social distancing, where social distancing is the single biggest way to combat the spread of the virus along with washing your hands regularly. Imagine how fast the virus might spread if we didn’t have social media today? And this doesn’t even take into account medical advancements over time. So please work with your faculty as best you can to continue your studies. It will take time for everything to settle in and smooth out to a livable pace for continuing your studies. Be patient and just keep at it and you will complete.
Above all, please take care of yourself and your family. We will be sharing resources shortly for help from here at the college and within the community. The good news is that, to our knowledge, we currently do not have major community spread in the area. Thank you, as some of this is due to your efforts to help us go to a mostly distance learning mode and that of our terrific faculty and staff who stepped up to work with you in this critical endeavor.
Also, to clarify a few things, you have received a letter from the SUNY Chancellor as well today. It is directed primarily at the senior SUNY institutions, as they are fully state operated with tens of thousands of resident students across SUNY. Community colleges are neither. We are not state operated nor are we primarily residential. It is primarily resident students that SUNY is asking not return to campus if they have left. Many are on spring break right now, so it impacts thousands of resident students. Our spring break is so late, it will little impact us.
Again, thank you for your patience and perseverance. The nation has been through tough times before and always has exited the other side a stronger nation. Patience and perseverance always pays off in the long run. It’s one of the things your SUNY Broome degree will stand for.
Sincerely,
President, SUNY Broome
Tags: Coronavirus
