Words cannot adequately express our heartfelt gratitude to members of the Penn State Beaver campus community, all of whom – faculty, staff and students – worked impressively this past year to support and care for each other.
Particularly our faculty and staff strove to provide our students the best experience possible under the circumstances. Even with the need to pivot and adjust almost daily, we managed to navigate fall semester 2020 successfully. This was only possible through the dedication of our entire campus.
From reconfiguring classrooms and common areas to adapting teaching methods and rethinking traditional work setups, everyone contributed. Staff and faculty conceived of alternative ways for students to work and socialize safely. Tents assembled in the center of campus provided distanced, outdoor spaces, just one example of many creative responses to our constrained conditions. Students of art instructor Sarah McMahon then decorated chairs to add fun visual interest to the setup. Our Student Engagement Office presented programming throughout the semester with some limited in-person involvement, often under the tents, and a plethora of online opportunities to engage students.
In short, our community members came together and prevailed under adversity. Without their dedication to our campus, we would not have made it through the semester as well as we did. Thank you to all of you for all you have done and continue to do.
— Jenifer S. Cushman, chancellor at Penn State Beaver