Open Letter, by Cameron University's President John McArthur
Dear Cameron University supporters:
Thanks to the dedication, calm and creativity of Cameron University employees as we face a terrifying illness, we continue to provide educational opportunities and care for our students and each other. Our faculty members have converted our instruction into virtual environments including the transition of over 500 traditional classroom and laboratory courses into an online setting in less than one week.
Our frontline staff members are responding to a flood of inquiries by telephone, electronic mail and social media including support for a new dedicated hotline for our students. Our housing and food services staff members are still caring for over 200 students in our apartments and dorms. Many of those students are from overseas or out of state and unable to return home safely. Our back-office staff are making sure we continue to meet payroll and keep our technology infrastructure working under loads well beyond design parameters.
Our Commencement exercises have been canceled until it is safe to reschedule them but our graduating students will still finish courses, complete degrees, receive commissions in the U.S. Army, and enter or re-enter the workforce on May 1. All other campus events have been canceled or postponed through May 10, 2020. Most of our meetings have moved into virtual settings using Zoom or some other form of technology-mediated communication.
We continue to plan and work for the future. Student enrollment for Fall 2020 is open and scholarship committees are reviewing applications and holding video interviews with prospective students. Our Summer 2020 enrollment will begin on March 31. As a precaution, most of those course offerings will be scheduled for online delivery.
Several of you have reached out to me or to Vice President Johnson to ask about ways to help. Thank you for thinking of Cameron. We certainly encourage everyone foremost to care for family members and loved ones. We also are thankful for and supportive of our healthcare community and our emergency responders as they work incredibly hard to keep us safe and to find a vaccine or remedy for the COVID-19 illness.
That said, I am watching and listening each day to students who have lost jobs, who have lost access to childcare, or who are struggling with anxiety due to the uncertainties they face. Cameron University is providing student account adjustments and refunds for unused portions of meal plans, housing balances, and university fees collected for services and events that have been canceled. We are also keeping all of our student workers employed and paid regardless of how they are working.
If you wish to do something for students, the Cameron Aggie Response (CARE) Fund remains open through the Cameron University Foundation. This fund supports emergency loans and emergency financial gifts to students. Information about how to send support can be found at https://www. cameron.edu/foundation/ ways-to-give.
I hope each of you remains safe and healthy.