Dear Golden Eagle Community,
I am impressed and encouraged by the amount and quality of work you all are doing on behalf of Tech students.
Faculty, department chairs, deans, and academic staffs are showing such thoughtfulness in preparing physical classrooms and delivery methods. Administrative offices, with Facilities at the forefront, are finding ways to support students and faculty.
We just completed our first week of welcoming SOAR students and parents on campus, and we learned a lot about what it will take to serve everyone and promote health and safety.
This is a critical time for us as we shift to students returning this fall. Hundreds of you have delivered recommendations through workgroups to promote the safe, orderly and kind approach to our campus operations. Because of these efforts, we have the Return to Tech plan that provides the protocols and procedures that will guide us through the fall semester. This plan is documented in two booklets (one for students and one for employees) so people can find information relevant to them easily.
These plans will remain living documents and will be updated as needed. Along with the FAQS, the plans will be the official source of information for how we work through the fall semester. (https://www.tntech.edu/return/)
We have also built a communications plan that includes regular updates to campus. Beginning Wednesday, July 22, we will post updates each Wednesday at 10 a.m. to share information important to campus operations and safety.
Your feedback remains important, and I encourage you to contact return2020@tntech.edu with your comments.
Finally, I have heard passionate conversations and arguments for and against topics that make headlines and ultimately affect our campus. We don’t all agree; our students don’t all agree with us or each other.
However, it is our responsibility to lead and serve with kindness and patience, always putting students interests first. We will be remembered for how we faced this challenge. How we conduct ourselves during this time of change and tension will stand as a lesson that shapes our students’ lives forever.
I encourage us all to be bold, fearless, confident, and kind, especially now.
Wings Up!
Phil
