The following message was distributed to the CalArts community from CalArts President Ravi Rajan:
March 9, 2020
Dear CalArtians,
The tension and uncertainty stemming from the global COVID-19 outbreak have meant simmering unease and extra stress. For many here, the situation also means an added deluge of mission-critical work: shouldering extra deep-cleaning duties, or rearranging important events, or planning how to teach your class if we can’t gather on campus, or advising students about how to manage spring break if they have plans to travel home to an outbreak-impacted area, or any of hundreds of other new tasks that are now required of us to support our community as we prepare for every imaginable contingency.
Academic and administrative staff who make up the CalArts Emergency Response Team have worked to complete an initial FAQ to provide guidance to our community as we manage the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
This guidance has been posted to the CalArts web at calarts.edu/coronavirus and I encourage all faculty, students and staff to review this important information.
This is all happening at the busiest time of the year for us, when CalArtians often feel overwhelmed already. Now we all feel especially stretched – and at times underappreciated. It’s easy to feel bewildered and maxed out.
I want to take a second and say THANK YOU to each of you – for showing up and persevering, for staying engaged and working hard, for raising your voices, for joining together and keeping watch over one another. Navigating these days is taxing. Please be patient with each other.
I also want to extend my thanks to the many, many CalArtians who are each working non-stop to manage the impacts of COVID-19 on our community and to keep us safe and healthy. Each one of you is jumping up to help our community, and managing your own relationship to the daily, if not hourly, changes in status.
The March 8, 2020 COVID-19 Guidance will be updated regularly and you will be alerted when updates are made and posted to our website. And, please take a pause when you can. Be kind and good to yourselves. Rest. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Don’t hesitate to stop by the office to let us know what you need and how you’re feeling. Know how much I appreciate each one of you and your commitment to our educational mission. Together, we’ll hold up and reinforce our community with the creative problem-solving, resilience, and resolve we hold so dear.
Sincerely,
Ravi
Go to Coronavirus Information and Updates