Dear Faculty and Staff:

Welcome to the spring semester and 2022. I hope that each of you had a very peaceful and relaxing holiday break. Most likely, a few months ago none of us would have imagined that we would be contemplating whether to begin our spring semester in person or online. Just when it felt like things were returning to normal, or at least a modified version of normal, a new surge in COVID cases has caused many educational institutions to pause and rethink plans for the spring semester.

St. Charles County is currently one of the “hot spots” in the state, as evidenced by a significant increase in COVID-related cases this month. Experts predict that the surge in cases will continue through the end of January. As such, we certainly need to do our part in minimizing the rapid spread of this virus. Last week I facilitated a Zoom meeting with all full-time faculty to gain their insights about the college’s
response to the surge in cases. The majority of faculty polled during the meeting indicated a desire to shift all lecture classes to remote learning while allowing specialized classes such as labs, clinicals, performance-based courses to continue to operate in-person. This revised schedule will be in place from January 24 through February 6. Our hope is to return to the original in-person spring schedule after this time.

Earlier this month, Vice President Galbierz communicated with staff that staggered work schedules would be implemented through January 21. With the change to the first week of the semester, the plan for staggered schedules will be extended to February 6. During this time period, all in-person events have been canceled. As always, the Pandemic Committee will monitor the status of COVID cases and make recommendations aligned with feedback from the county health department and guidelines
established by the CDC.

I am pleased to announce that the search committee for the Vice President of Human Resources has completed its work and forwarded three finalists for consideration. Due to our current revised work schedule, we will be holding virtual campus forums for each candidate as noted below:

January 20
3:00 p.m. – Candidate One

January 21
9:00 a.m. – Candidate Two
10:30 a.m. – Candidate Three

A bio for each candidate will be distributed prior to the sessions, along with a response form for you to submit your feedback and a Zoom link to access the meeting.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the information shared in my first Touch Base
Tuesday for 2022. I know that times continue to be challenging as we face so many changes. Please know that I continue to be impressed and inspired by the dedication and resilience of our faculty and staff. Please stay safe and best wishes for a successful start to the spring semester.

Barbara