I write with an update on an important question and to confirm that DePaul is planning to be open for limited in-person learning and reduced occupancy in on-campus student residences in the fall quarter 2020.
Of course, the health, well-being and safety of the entire university community is our primary focus. As such, the university is planning to deliver as many classes as possible safely on campus this fall. A similar commitment to safety guides our planning for resuming student residence on campus.
Successful execution of this ambition requires a complex planning process that calls for nimbleness, imagination and empathy from the entire DePaul community, and we are listening. We have continually met with students, faculty and staff. We have assembled a team of representative members of the DePaul community who continue to engage in a thoughtful and deliberate dialogue regarding every detail of this plan. The team will continue to seek input and participation from all university stakeholders as appropriate to make informed choices. Engaging the broader community is a concrete way to keep the sense of our DePaul community alive and together search for the common good in difficult times.
Though some classes will be held fully on-campus, more classes than usual will continue to take place at least partially online. Indeed, DePaul's plans for fall quarter provide students with more options for how they take classes. Since 2008, DePaul has prepared professors to teach online with an award-winning professional development program, the DePaul Online Teaching Series , known as DOTS. The DOTS summer session has been expanded to accommodate over 200 faculty members. Fall online classes will empower students with a variety of options combining asynchronous and synchronous delivery in a flexible set of offerings that will accommodate scheduling needs and learning preferences.
We expect to make further announcements regarding our blueprint for fall quarter operations soon. We are tracking the progression of COVID-19 and listening to state, local and public health leaders to determine what degree of social distancing and remote learning will be required in the fall to safeguard the health of our community. This includes significant steps to reduce density in the residence halls, as well as academic buildings.
Your cooperation in following social distancing and other safety measures is vital to the success of these efforts.
Our planning principles, informed by our Vincentian mission to care for the dignity of all people, call us to focus on:
- promoting the health and safety of the university community and of the communities where we study, work and live;
- ensuring DePaul's diverse community of learners have access to our nationally ranked academic programs and support services that will enable them to thrive;
- supporting and maximizing student academic and personal success;
- strengthening our university both now and for the future.
Vincentians learn from experience and then apply what they have learned. We have continued to learn and grow as we face each new challenge and will continue in this spirit through certain challenges ahead.
To our students, know that the university's faculty and staff are here to support you. Your tenacity will help us through these times. To our faculty and staff, let me again say you are key to giving students the DePaul experience they expected when they chose us. Your creativity and nimbleness will allow DePaul to continue serving students during some of the most challenging circumstances in this university's history.
We must all continue to act as partners in this—supporting one another, respecting each other's dignity and maintaining each other's trust.
While the following months will be difficult, we will continue to confront all challenges together.
We are DePaul.
Sincerely,
A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D.
President