Dear UVM community,

I am reaching out today in the spirit of understanding and with a deep commitment to do all I can to help our community renew its strength and optimism in the waning days of this pandemic. 

I recognize that we are all exhausted and frayed by the constant demands of the past year. And while we try to push through and do our very best, these fraught times are fertile ground for missteps. 

Understanding the anxiety, loneliness and stress our students have been feeling, I asked our Dean of Students and his team to review all recent cases of suspension. This work is done, and students and their families are being notified of any changes in the outcomes. 

Our team also is working to identify new ways to help our students cope with the pressures they are experiencing. We know our outdoor ice-skating rink and fire pits have been useful in addressing social isolation, but we recognize additional measures will help. We are partnering with our students as we develop solutions.

CDC covid guidelines have been confusing at best for most of the past year. And the state recommendations and policies have tried to follow a conservative pathway to keep our communities safe. Governor Scott’s recent update to the rules surrounding household gatherings provides hope. We will work with the state to interpret how this shift might apply at UVM while maintaining focus on our primary goal—to keep our community safe while maintaining in-person classes. We will keep you informed as this work progresses. As we have seen at other universities, Duke being one of the latest, what we have achieved together can be easily lost.

While we continue to do our very best to meet the needs of our students, I ask that we also keep in mind the well-being of our staff and faculty. So much of successfully maintaining campus operations has fallen on their shoulders. I have seen their dedication in our testing center, in our classrooms, and when I’ve visited residence halls. And I am deeply aware of the enormous amount of work being done behind the scenes and “after hours.”

Finally, let us not forget, the UVM community’s performance remains among the best in the nation, thanks in huge part to the cooperation and admirable fortitude of our students. We are at a trickier juncture with covid than it may appear, and the next few weeks are especially important. We will continue to try our best—you have my word on that. But we will also need your understanding as we continue, daily and hourly, to chart uncharted paths.

All I can do for now is to thank you all sincerely for your hard work, patience and collaboration, and to earnestly seek your continued cooperation for the last phase of this challenging time.

We will get there. And soon.

Best wishes,

Suresh
Suresh Garimella, President