{"id":2621,"date":"2020-11-03T16:23:26","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T16:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=2621"},"modified":"2025-02-11T12:50:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T17:50:58","slug":"covid-19-goodwill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2020\/11\/03\/covid-19-goodwill\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 Goodwill"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column2621_becfa9-6e dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33\"]{font-size:1.5rem;line-height:30px;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-family:proxima-nova;color:#808080;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading2621_6c387a-33\">It was the worst of times, and in some ways, the best of times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In late 2019, a virus that caused the coronavirus disease emerged in Wuhan, China, then spread to more than 200 countries and territories. On Feb. 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially named the new coronavirus COVID-19, and by March 11, 2020, deemed it a pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Businesses shuttered, schools and churches closed, local and national sports and entertainment events were canceled. Global citizens were ordered to shelter-in-place to prevent the spread of the disease. Face masks became standard garb for anyone venturing outside their dwellings. As of&nbsp; September 2020, the Johns Hopkins University tracker reported that global infections from COVID-19 were close to 30 million, with deaths of nearly 950,000. The numbers continued to rise as viral and antibody tests were developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Employees of industries deemed essential by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security \u2014 health care, law enforcement, public safety, first responders, food and agriculture, energy, communications, IT, and more \u2014 could not stay home. They served on the front lines, inspiring a new world beholden to their efforts. Many Wilmington University students and alumni stood on those front lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COVID-19 disrupted the norm, but it did not disrupt students\u2019 ability to learn at Wilmington University. The University sprang into action, using its advanced technological capabilities and the dedicated Educational Technology team, with support from IT, to provide face-to-face students with a seamless and immediate transition to the online environment. This rendered the same academic quality and support to which students had been accustomed. The IT team worked intently to ensure that staff members were equipped to work remotely \u2014 that involved handling, delivering, and setting up the equipment so that virtual operations ran smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WilmU\u2019s Maintenance and University Safety teams worked around the clock. Everyone\u2019s safety and well-being remained a top priority as the administration closely monitored daily updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Education Advisory Board, and the State of Delaware. The University\u2019s Emergency Management Department was in constant contact with the Delaware Division of Public Health for local information and support. Remotely, staff and faculty worked collaboratively and maintained their traditionally excellent service to students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WilmU established the WilmUnity Support Fund for students whose lives were financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign is ongoing, and members of the entire WilmU community continue to donate. To further assist students, there was no tuition increase for the 2020-2021 academic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have never taken our dedicated board of trustees, administration, staff, or faculty for granted,\u201d says WilmU President Dr. LaVerne Harmon. \u201cBut when you face a crisis like COVID-19, you are reminded of how much colleagues care about students and each other. You truly appreciate the character it takes to remain strong during difficult times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"in-it-together\">In It Together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>President&nbsp;Harmon led the University through the pandemic, facing immediate challenges concerning the safety and well-being of students, faculty, and staff,\u201d&nbsp;says Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer&nbsp;Dr. Erin DiMarco.&nbsp;\u201cShe made critical decisions as&nbsp;news about COVID-19 grew increasingly more alarming, and things changed day-to-day. Dr. Harmon had to consider how the pandemic would impact the University from a business perspective while safeguarding its academic integrity.\u201d The President asked Dr. DiMarco&nbsp;to&nbsp;convene a small response planning group whose mission was to develop a COVID-19 preparation strategy.&nbsp;This became the&nbsp;Response Planning Committee, and it comprised several University leaders who focused on ensuring that all operations ran smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe communicated frequently&nbsp;with staff, faculty, and students, and collaborated&nbsp;with the teams she put in place,\u201d says Dr. DiMarco. \u201cAs a result, our administration, faculty, and staff worked together to ensure our students\u2019 safety and success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Human Resources Department worked tirelessly to keep employees informed and engaged, and quickly moved all employee development opportunities online. The team collaborated with Educational Technology to offer fun and informative sessions designed to keep colleagues connected. \u201cAdditional resources and communication forums were provided for all aspects of employee health and wellness,\u201d says Vice President for Administrative and Legal Affairs Chris Trowbridge. \u201cThe well-known compassion and caring of our HR team were on display remotely as they offered countless individuals the personalized assistance, guidance, and support they needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Wilmington University Library and Information Technology teams immediately increased the number of laptops to lend to students. \u201cAs students requested these laptops, they were mailed to their homes at no cost to them, and we eliminated all due dates so they could keep them until the crisis was over,\u201d says Library Director Jim&nbsp;McCloskey. The library continued to mail books and other materials to students at no cost and quickly increased the number of virtual instruction sessions. Staff prepared a COVID-19 research guide to assist anyone who sought unbiased, research-based e-journal articles, ebooks, and reliable statistical sources about the virus. Also, the library initiated an eReading Circle to allow students to engage librarians and fellow students. \u201cWe also expanded access to electronic resources through several publishers, databases, and global online dissertations,\u201d says McCloskey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The College of Health Professions held weekly town hall meetings via Zoom for students and faculty. The Sunday evening, one-hour forums provided accurate information via personal interaction. This offered a touchstone for students, many of whom were already employed in the health care industry. WilmU honored their work on the front lines by remaining flexible and cognizant of the struggles they faced personally and professionally throughout the pandemic. \u201cThe meetings covered local, regional, and national public health updates; nursing accreditation and certification updates; how our academic programs are responding and revising in the face of the current circumstances; and our shared perspectives on the personal and professional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d says Dean Dr. Denise Wells. \u201cThey also proved essential in addressing the COHP\u2019s decision, based on authorities\u2019 recommendations and healthcare facilities\u2019 restrictions on access to their facilities, to suspend all direct care clinical experiences for graduate nurse practitioner and post-graduate certificate programs, and in developing alternative courses of action.\u201d The sessions helped students feel connected. \u201cThey were a sure thing in a world of day-to-day uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>University departments and colleges held regular Zoom meetings throughout the quarantine period, including Enrollment Management and the Student Success Center, which was on call to assist with a variety of projects and hold virtual tutoring sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Robin B. Weinstein, chair of the Human Resources Management Program in the College of Business, is president and founder of The M25 Initiative, which serves Cumberland County, New Jersey, residents who face food insecurity and economic challenges. He announced recently that the M25 board awarded more than $50,000 in grant funding to assist programs feeding the Cumberland County community during the pandemic. Approximately&nbsp;20 county-based programs were awarded funding. \u201cThis funding is aimed at supporting those on the front lines of fighting poverty, homelessness, and hunger,\u201d says Dr. Weinstein. \u201cWe want our armies of compassion to know that we have their backs while they look after the needs of our neighbors. We also want the community to know that our Housing First Collaborative is continuing to find homes for those who face chronic homelessness, and we expect to meet our goal of 100 people housed by the end of this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Educational Technology and Human Resources departments started a \u201cTake 15\u201d series to create fun and engaging content during the crisis. Topics included cooking, fitness, entertainment, art, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Matt Wilson, associate professor and chair of Humanities, First Year Experience and English as a Second Language in the College of Arts and Sciences, developed and implemented a virtual weekly luncheon series for Leadership Delaware entitled \u201cLeadership Beyond COVID-19.\u201d Topics included responding, reopening, restoring, rebuilding, and resilience.&nbsp;Featured speakers included Dave Tiberi, Alan Levin, Malia Boone, and Peter Atwater.&nbsp;Dr. Wilson serves as a board member for Leadership Delaware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Stephanie Battis, a full-time faculty member and graduate advisor in the College of Business, coordinated via Zoom the Business Skills for Leaders program to high school students who took part in Jobs for Delaware Graduates, a nonprofit that assists high school students in developing skills for future jobs. According to its website, JDG&nbsp;was designed in 1978 by five working groups in Delaware, drawn from business, educational, workforce, labor union, and community leadership to address Delaware\u2019s unemployment and dropout rates. Dr. Battis supported Alex Yoh, Dr. Lynda Fuller, Dr. Frank Ingraham, and Dr. Janice Wardle as they presented workshops to several students throughout May. They covered business writing, customer service, job preparation, personal branding, job search, and social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Theresa Bennett, of the College of Education, funded a MacBook for alumna Kari Lleras, a teacher in Brooklyn, New York. The teacher then connected remotely with her students throughout the pandemic. \u201cKari Lleras was a WilmU student in our first Master\u2019s in Reading cohort in Laurel,\u201d says Bennett. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of Kari and the work she did in Delaware and now in Brooklyn. It was my pleasure to fund 90 percent of her Donor\u2019s Choose project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shortly after the pandemic began and shelter-in-place orders emerged for states including Delaware and New Jersey, Dr. Debra Berke, director of Psychology Programs and the Center for Prevention Science in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, was asked to speak to Bethany Grace Community Church in New Jersey about coping with trauma and the quarantine. \u201cDr. Robin Weinstein, a WilmU colleague and pastor at Bethany Grace, arranged the presentation via Zoom,\u201d says Dr. Berke. According to Dr. Weinstein, \u201cThe forum was open to church attendees and members from the community, including other clergy. It had over 40 participants.&nbsp;Dr. Berke\u2019s presentation was compassionate and informative. During a time of heightened stress, she validated the feelings of the participants and gave all of us tools to not only help ourselves but to help others during the COVID pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Online Learning and Educational Technology Department hosted its <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2020\/10\/28\/what-makes-remarkable-teachers-remarkable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">11th annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium<\/a>, allowing hundreds of WilmU faculty members to attend via Zoom. Each year, the program offers faculty an expansive menu of training on technical topics and adult teaching strategies. In the past, this event took place on one day and featured different tracks. Faculty could get up to six hours of professional training by attending five of 20 sessions, then enjoying a keynote presentation. Thanks to stay-at-home orders and other restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the Educational Technology team seized the opportunity to transform the usual one-day event to five days online. That way, the faculty could attend all sessions. \u201cOur trainers are not just showing faculty what buttons to push to use an educational technology tool,\u201d says Dr. Sallie Reissman, assistant vice president and dean of the College of Online and Experiential Learning. \u201cThey are teachers themselves, so they know how to utilize technology to better help students master learning objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In place of her regular monthly volunteer shift, Katie Burke, assistant to the vice president of External and International Affairs, delivered breakfast sandwiches to 12 family members at the Ronald McDonald House in May.&nbsp;\u201cAlthough the world was halted due to COVID-19, that didn\u2019t mean there were not families who were still caring for loved ones,\u201d says Burke. \u201cWilmU has continued to donate breakfast for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House. Our volunteer WilmU chefs missed their cooking shifts, but we were still donating and dropping off food until we could get back into the kitchen for our monthly Saturday breakfast shifts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The College of Technology joined forces with Italian Kitchen to send 50 meals to Unit 5C at Christiana Hospital. It was their way of thanking the brave workers for their perseverance throughout the pandemic. \u201cTim Day came up with the idea and coordinated it,\u201d says Dr. Anthony Carcillo, dean of the College of Technology. \u201cWhile doing this, we discovered that the manager of Unit 5C, Benita Robinson, is a WilmU graduate!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Wilmington University\u2019s Criminal Justice Institute didn\u2019t skip a beat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Directors Dr. Ray Carr and Scott Duffey developed a partnership with The Vidocq&nbsp;Society, which&nbsp;provides pro bono expert assistance to the law enforcement community in solving cold case homicides throughout the world. In cooperation with Vidocq, the CJI created a webinar series called \u201cTo Catch a Criminal.\u201d The inaugural offering, \u201cThe Forensic Genetic Genealogy Revolution\u201d was presented virtually in June by Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, the creator of&nbsp;Identifiers International, and recognized widely as the founder of modern forensic genealogy.&nbsp;Throughout the quarantine period, the CJI nurtured its relationship with the Delaware Department of Corrections via Zoom and developed an eight-week block of instruction that will be taken by all DOC employees over the next three years. Additionally, adds Dr. Carr, \u201cwe developed free online versions of our Cyber Intrusion course for the Wilmington University community and the public.\u201d In July, Dr. Carr was inducted virtually into the Vidocq Society and is now one of just 82 full members in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WilmU alums and adjuncts Jeffrey Benson Jr. and Kathryn Burritt, as well as alumnus Dr. Julius Mullen Sr., the chief clinical officer of Children &amp; Families First, joined forces with the Seaford Community of Hope. They coordinated food trucks that served more than 35,000 meals to Seaford School District students since the COVID-19 school shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The University Relations team created a thoughtful campaign to thank first-line responders and other local heroes for their work during COVID-19. They also developed WilmU face masks and special designs for the Class of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Clint Robertson is a member of the Downtown Dover Partnership, which worked vigorously to support Dover businesses during the pandemic. He also wanted to support the essential agriculture industry by working with his former U.S.&nbsp;Merchant Marine Academy student Gordon Inouye, a retired executive from American President Lines who lives in Hawaii.&nbsp; Inouye supports the Hawaiian flower exporting business. Hawaii was hit hard by the coronavirus quarantine, mainly because a two-week quarantine was required of its visitors. \u201cAnother large industry hit by the quarantine was the flower exporting business,\u201d says Dr. Robertson.&nbsp;\u201cSince most of&nbsp;the florist shops in the U.S. and Canada were closed, the flower brokers and wholesalers were not ordering fresh flowers.\u201d Dr. Robertson supported Pacific Florists in its efforts to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Members of the College of Arts and Sciences became mask makers. Math Chair Diane Bansbach used her friend\u2019s 50-year-old sewing machine to make masks for Kent County business employees.&nbsp; Her husband\u2019s company, Dixon Valve &amp; Coupling, printed hundreds of ED plastic masks for EMT personnel. Dr. Kate Cottle made her masks for friends, family, and others. She used recycled and scrap fabric when she ran out of elastic for the ties. The college also donated gloves, surgical masks, and cleaning wipes from WilmU\u2019s science programs to Christiana Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To celebrate the May 2020 graduates, Senior Director of Web and Systems Communications Kevin Barry led the WilmU homepage design that featured dynamic scrolling text listing their names, degrees, and colleges.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was the worst of times, and in some ways, the best of times. In late 2019, a virus that caused the coronavirus disease emerged&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[634],"class_list":["post-2621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","tag-magazine-fall-2020"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":135,"label":"MAGAZINE"}],"post_tag":[{"value":634,"label":"Magazine Fall 2020"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cover-2-1140x694-1-750x457.jpg",750,457,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Rebecca Slinger","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/rebecca\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":135,"name":"MAGAZINE","slug":"magazine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":692,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":431,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":135,"category_count":431,"category_description":"","cat_name":"MAGAZINE","category_nicename":"magazine","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":634,"name":"Magazine Fall 2020","slug":"magazine-fall-2020","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1191,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2621"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15979,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621\/revisions\/15979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}