Public Statements

Hamilton's Response to COVID-19

March 11, 2020

Tags Public Statements

Dear Members of the Hamilton Community,

I know many of you are concerned about the impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) may have on our campus, the broader community, and the lives of our students, faculty, staff, and families. I share those concerns.

Our primary focus right now is to protect your health and wellbeing, but we also wish to do everything feasible to enable you to continue your studies with as little disruption as possible.

Many of our peers have announced plans to cancel in person classes and shift to distance learning for part or all of the remainder of the spring semester. They have also imposed stringent constraints on travel and campus gatherings. Others are continuing normal operations.

Even though we share many of the same concerns as other colleges, each institution must make its own decisions based on its proximity to areas where the coronavirus has been confirmed and the institution’s ability to serve its students. At present, Hamilton plans to continue normal operations, although we recognize that the situation is unpredictable and we may need to adjust our plans on short notice.

We have considered carefully a wide range of options, from canceling spring break and shortening the semester to an immediate move to distance learning. Each of those options has some potential advantages, but each would also prove seriously disruptive for many members of our community.

For now, we intend to proceed with spring break as planned, while urging everyone to exercise caution in their travels and to follow CDC and other public health authority guidance. We will also continue to welcome visitors to campus. But the situation is evolving rapidly, and guidance from public health authorities may change. As we near the end of spring break, we will be in a position to make a more informed decision about whether to resume classes as scheduled or to shift to distance learning for part of the semester.

I recognize, of course, that this requires all of us to live with a considerable degree of uncertainty. Because of the possibility that we might have to provide remote instruction for some period, students who choose to leave campus for the break should take with them whatever academic materials, medications, and valuables they might need to complete the semester.

We will also use the break to work with faculty to assist them in preparing to move classes online should that prove necessary. Dean of Faculty Suzanne Keen and Vice President for Libraries and Information Technology Joe Shelley have already communicated with faculty about some of the tools and support available to them. We recognize that if we have to move in this direction, it will impose a major burden on both faculty and students, and we will do everything we can to minimize that burden.

We know that the operational challenges posed by the coronavirus also place an additional burden on our extraordinary and dedicated staff, who do so much to create the environment that makes Hamilton such a special place. The College remains open and we expect that will continue to be the case even if we do shift to remote instruction for some period, but we will seek to be as flexible as we can in assisting staff in the event the work environment changes.

I want to emphasize that we have not made a decision to cancel classes, even for a limited period, and we hope that doing so will not prove necessary. In the meantime, we will continue our contingency planning.

In that regard, I want to thank the Hamilton Emergency Response Team (HERT), which is taking the lead on day to day planning, and has informed the discussions and decisions of the senior staff. My senior staff colleagues and I are meeting daily, monitoring guidance provided by HERT and federal, state, and local officials, and making decisions with the health and safety of our community foremost in our minds. You can expect regular updates from HERT on the state of our plans.

I extend a special thank you to our colleagues in the Health Center, Facilities Management, Bon Appetit and others who have put in long hours and focused much of their work during the past several weeks on keeping all of us safe.

I wish you all a wonderful, safe, and healthy spring break.

David