New measures to support students during Spring Semester

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

Greetings. It is almost time to begin the spring semester. I hope that you were able to catch your breath and relax a little over the long break. I am looking forward to seeing you, perhaps some in person and some virtually.

 

I am writing to provide you with an update on some of the measures we are taking to improve your experience this spring over your experience in the fall. As you know, the pandemic is in high gear, requiring that we take every precaution to avoid its spread. I am confident that you will be as conscientious in your deportment this spring as you were last fall. Thank you. We act for ourselves and for one another.

 

Here are some steps we are taking that we hope will help you during this intense period of study. 

 

First, the faculty have voted to extend the date to change a course evaluation from a letter grade to credit/no credit to the last day of class for this spring semester.

 

Second, we realize that while we cannot have in-person meetings—meetings that we all would very much like to have—we can arrange for more social interactions. We are going to organize monthly online social gatherings in groups that already exist and invite some of the faculty who work with that group to be present. These will last an hour and will be in groups small enough to allow for interaction. Bill Goettler, Associate Dean for Ministerial and Professional Leadership, is working with the heads of all the denominational studies programs, plus Andover Newton, Berkeley, and the ISM, to organize M.Div. students. Jennifer Herdt, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, is working with the directors of the M.A.R. concentrations and with faculty who can work with the comprehensive M.A.R. students. We will invite S.T.M. students who have a natural alignment with one of these concentrations to join it. No one thinks that these meetings will be the same as in-person gatherings, but they will have the advantage of allowing students who are not in New Haven to participate. I hope that you will be a part of these gatherings. If you do not receive an invitation within the next couple of weeks, please inform Dean Goettler (if you are a M.Div. student) or Dean Herdt (if you are a M.A.R. or S.T.M. student) and they will find a natural home for you.

 

Third, we will start a weekly communication from the administration specifically for you as students. This will give you a one-stop place where you can find official information. We plan to call it This Week at YDS. Jeanne Peloso, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, and Tom Krattenmaker, Director of Communications, have been working to get this up and going. You will receive email notifications when new issues of the newsletters appear, and Tom will use social media to call your attention to the newsletter and items of particular importance. Communications is also creating an area on our website where you can find past messages all in one place. We hope that these steps will make it easier for you to keep up with official announcements as we navigate the challenging semester.

 

Finally, it is important that you let us know if you need assistance. If you are struggling with a course (whether the cause is personal or academic), please speak to the relevant faculty. You do not need to disclose personal struggles, but you can find out what your options are academically. I realize that it can be embarrassing to have such a conversation, but the faculty are in your corner: they want you to succeed and will help you. If it is a serious academic concern, you should also feel free to meet with Jennifer Herdt. If you are having a personal problem—and we all do—please speak with Jeanne Peloso. She is a trained psychologist and a wonderfully approachable person. There are also University-wide resources at your disposal if you prefer an anonymous conversation.

 

Everyone understands that this is an extraordinarily difficult period. We have all lost loved ones. We have all had members of our family laid off or furloughed. Every family has felt the impact of COVID-19 and understands the strain that it has placed on us. Please do not think that you are alone or that others have not experienced losses and will not understand your plight. While our circumstances vary, we have all struggled this past year. I will be in my office Monday through Thursday throughout the semester, and I am happy to meet with you if you want to talk (I will work from home Friday through Sunday). 

 

This will be a challenging semester. We will all remember it for as long as we live. I have learned to think of challenges as opportunities. This does not diminish the struggle or the pain, but it emphasizes that there are new ways of thinking about life and about one’s career in the midst of serious difficulties. May we all rise to the challenge and support one another as a community as we do.

 

With best wishes,

 

Gregory E. Sterling