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Dear CEAS community,

What an extraordinary beginning of the spring semester for our campus. I hope this message finds you well and safe as we continue to navigate the impacts of the Marshall Fire and the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. 

The fires are having a direct impact on our community, and my heart goes out to those who were evacuated, have damage, or lost their homes. I have had the opportunity to connect directly with more than 60 of our staff and faculty who were impacted, and our college leaders continue working on outreach to students as well. Our impacted colleagues are sharing that this will be a long recovery and healing process for them, their families and their neighbors. The wellbeing of our students, staff and faculty is the top priority for me and our leadership team, so I encourage those that have been impacted to utilize our campus fire resources. These resources are available specifically for you. Please know that you are not alone, and your CEAS community is here to support you.   

As we begin the semester on Monday in a temporary remote status, I invite you to be flexible and practice compassion for our entire community. Faculty and staff, allow students room to adapt to learning remotely and navigating delayed schedules for returning to ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ, something they had not anticipated doing. Students, allow faculty and staff room to recover from the impact of the fires and reorder their lives. This will take intentional patience and compassion from all of us. Now, more than ever, we need to come together as a community to lift each other up. 

There are many examples of how we are doing just that. My deepest gratitude goes out to the members of our community who have shown care, compassion, and generosity and have stepped up to support those who have been affected. Many have shared that they are contributing to the emergency funds for students, staff, and faculty who are impacted; donating items to community organizations; housing those who were evacuated and whose homes were damaged or lost; and looking to volunteer with clean-up and rebuilding efforts. 

For those who are interested in volunteering and other ways to contribute to rebuilding efforts, the team at the Volunteer Resource Center on campus has compiled a list of opportunities, including the statewide effort, Thank you for your commitment to our community and one another as we navigate this crisis together.

While this is not the start of the spring semester that we imagined for ourselves, together we can make this a positive, supportive and valuable experience for our community. 

With gratitude,

Keith Molenaar 
Acting Dean