Dear Colleagues, Students, Alumni and Friends of the Romain College of Business,
USI recently made the difficult decision to move its coursework online for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester, and to require its faculty and most of its staff to work remotely from their homes until at least April 30. We do this as part of our role in slowing the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus. Our faculty are working hard to convert their course content to an online format. Many have never taught online before, and many of our students never wanted to learn online. Yet everyone has risen to the challenge! While our physical campus is largely vacant, we want to make sure everyone recognizes that we are still open. We are answering our phones and email. We are conducting classes and interacting with our students. We are working behind the scenes to ensure the best learning experience that we can provide under the circumstances.
What can you do to help? Our students still need the support and guidance of our community. Many of them are missing out on the final months of their senior year. Others are just learning to adjust to college life. Still others are involved in clubs, Greek life and competitions. This crucial time is when many students would ordinarily find jobs, receive awards, enjoy the company of good friends through collaborative activities and celebrate a job well done as they enter a new phase in their lives. If you are an alum or friend of the college and have been involved with our students in some way, please continue to stay engaged with the faculty and students virtually. If you have not been involved, but would like to be, contact me, and we can discuss ways that you can still present to classes or mentor students. And if you prefer, you can help by contributing to scholarships, funding future learning experiences for students or supporting faculty research through a donation to the Romain College of Business.
If you are a student, please stay engaged. Talk to us about what you are experiencing and how we can help. We want you to be successful. And we are committed to helping you be the best you can be.
We are all in this together. Stay safe. Stay home. But stay engaged.
Cathy Carey, Dean