Happy Friday afternoon, Norse Nation.
This is my 3rd weekly video message and some of you have been sharing some feedback.
“We appreciate the information, but 7 minutes is too long!”
“Thank you for finding a way to communicate beyond emails”
“Your hair is getting longer but it still looks great!”
Well I threw that last one in there but not having salons open is going to be a problem.
All facetiousness aside, not being able to enjoy the vibrancy and energy of the campus is difficult isn’t it! But this unprecedented health crisis requires that we be very careful and maintain stringent social distancing until we are advised otherwise.
Once again I am grateful to all of you for adapting to this new normal with grace and commitment.
But I am enjoying watching along as you have shared your success stories on social media this week using hashtag-NKUZoom (#NKUZoom) to share your home office or classroom and hashtag- NKUHealthyAtHome (#NKUHealthyAtHome) to share pictures of yourself at home wearing NKU gear.
Please keep sharing this stories – it lifts all our spirits.
Of course, many of our staff are still working on campus to meet the needs of the students and to keep our university operating safely. I want to extend a special thank you to each of you from IT to the mail room to our custodians and facilities team to the Housing staff and beyond.
And the Student Emergency Fund has now raised over $52K for our students from faculty, staff, alumni and friends of NKU. Next week we will announce a matching gift opportunity.
These impressive numbers provide real stories of hope for our students.
One of these students told us that since the pandemic began, she has become a full-time student online, a full-time teacher for her 8-year-old daughter, a full-time daycare provider for her 4-year-old son and a part-time student worker — all at her home. Understandably, she says it seems nearly impossible sometimes to manage the stress and anxiety that grows daily. This support from the NKU community will provide a cushion to buy school supplies, medications, and help her with bills that will continue to arrive. Hopefully, that will alleviate some of the anxiety as well.
Another student told us he applied for the fund because his family has been economically impacted by the virus, and he didn't have anywhere to turn for funds after a series of opportunities were cancelled, including his internship.
“It's been very difficult,” he says, “but again I am so thankful to the donors.”
I want to thank the faculty, staff, alumni and friends who have given generously.
The NKU Alumni are also helping the local community. Rex Brooking is an alum who owns two Chick-Fil-A restaurants in the Dayton, Ohio, area. His stores have been donating food to healthcare workers as well as to a group of researchers at the University of Dayton who are working on the virus and trying to find a vaccine.
Rex embodies this university’s commitment to community. Thank you, Rex. You are a true NKU hero. And thank you to everybody going beyond the norm to lift each other up during this trying time.
As stewards of place, it is important that this university continue to look out for the community that we are a part of. To that end and given the critical shortages in personal protective equipment and resources our health care community is facing, we have donated our entire supply of N95 masks and Nitrile gloves to St. Elizabeth Healthcare. NKU has also donated three ventilators to the Christ Hospital Health Network for patients in critical condition.
We hope this equipment will help protect St. Elizabeth employees on the front line against this virus and that the ventilators will help those who have fallen ill.
Finally, I’ll wrap up my message once again with a couple of the most common questions our COVID-19 Preparedness Team has received.
First, we are still getting numerous questions about celebrating our May graduates this December.
While this is extremely disappointing for you and your families, we hope you understand that there is still too much uncertainty about a later date in summer. We are exploring other options and we will continue to seek input about how we can celebrate the May graduates in other ways.
Please continue to email any questions you have to covid19@nku.edu.
This continues to be a tough time for all of us, not only at NKU, but throughout the region, the country and the world. In the face of so much change and uncertainty that seems to grow by the day, we continue to meet the challenge for our students, for each other and for our friends, family and community.
We just concluded the elections for next years Student Government Association and I am delighted to congratulate Lauren Goodwin and Mia Dirks as the 2020-2021 SGA President and Vice President. Lauren and Mia – I look forward to working with you and SGA as we continue to advance success for all students.
As always, thank you, Norse Nation, for all that you’ve done and for all that is to come. Let’s all stay safe and stay well.
Have a great weekend — you deserve it.
