Town hall discussion on academic planning Friday

June 3, 2020

Dear Johns Hopkins Community:

Our process is well underway to develop plans for a phased resumption of research, instruction, student life, and other activities on our campuses in a manner that puts the health and safety of our community at the forefront. No specific timeline has been determined yet as we work to align with public health guidance and the lifting of state and local restrictions applicable to our university. The work we are doing now to address a huge number of complex operational, safety, and academic issues is key to making our return a success.

I hope you have had the opportunity to read the guidance documents posted so far on the JHU 2020 planning webpages and to share your feedback through our online form. We have also been holding a series of virtual town halls to elaborate on our planning efforts and take questions from the Johns Hopkins community. These town halls have been archived for asynchronous viewing.

Our fourth town hall will be held at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 5, to discuss the preparations underway to resume academic activities when it is prudent to do so. We will talk about a number of general issues related to instruction under consideration by our university workgroups, including planning for instruction in different phases, instructor and student accommodations and adjustments, health and safety in the learning environment, and preparation for instruction with mixed and remote/online modality. I will be joined by Nancy Kass, professor and vice provost for graduate and professional education; Jon Links, professor and vice provost and chief risk and compliance officer; and Andrew Douglas, professor and vice provost for faculty affairs.

You can submit questions in advance at covidtownhall@jhu.edu as well as at the time of the town hall, which will be moderated by Janet Schreck, associate vice provost for education.

Future town halls will address more specific work related to graduate studies, undergraduate education, and student life, and we hope you will continue to be part of this important discussion. The questions and feedback provided by students, faculty, and staff over the past few weeks have been invaluable in understanding areas of concern, formulating options, and driving a universitywide discussion about how we can return to the activities that are vital to our mission.

Sincerely,

Stephen J. Gange
Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor of Epidemiology