Dear Faculty and Staff:
The past few days have been taxing and unusual for each of us, for our university, and for much of higher education. What is common today would have been unthinkable just two weeks ago, and the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to alter our daily routines and how we work.
Crisis can reveal the true character of an organization. By ensuring we take care of students and each other, we demonstrate our shared values. Once this has passed and we look back on how we performed, we will be proud of the herculean tasks we accomplished individually and as a university.
The next few weeks will be unsettling as we adjust to a new way of operating. But what will remain constant is our commitment to WKU’s mission of enabling student success and providing access and opportunity. Each of us is doing all we can to help our students finish this semester and remain on their paths to graduation.
I have been asked by students and others why we are doing these disruptive things when there is no confirmed COVID-19 case near us. I have responded this way: We do this to protect them. But we also do this to protect others who are more vulnerable and more susceptible to this disease; including many in our broader communities who they don’t know and will never meet, but could die as a result of the virus spreading. And that their individual sacrifice may allow someone else to live.
Our COVID-19 Taskforce continues to meet daily and will update faculty and staff through the COVID-19 website, https://www.wku.edu/covid19/, key cabinet members, and our shared governance organizations. Please check the website daily to stay best informed.
Your dedication, flexibility, creativity and commitment to our core values are being noticed and appreciated by many. I am proud that in the face of this tremendous challenge, we continue to put our people and our communities first. As a WKU family, we will persevere together.
Best,
Timothy C. Caboni
