Dear USEK Community Members,
Dear USEK Family,

At the outset, I would like to thank you for your patience, your solidarity and your commitment to our institution, as we stand fast in these difficult times. Our ability to remain operational is the result of the excellent and dynamic response of each and every one of you.

I understand this is a stressful period for everyone, faculty and staff, as they combine their daily routine duties with the constraints of remote work. I am also personally communicating, through frequent e-meetings, with the heads of academic and administrative units to make sure that you are all following the health guidelines and recommendations, as your safety is and will always be our utmost concern.

Heads of academic and administrative units are constantly seeking to develop the best methods to address the situation and are liaising with faculty and administrative staff, who all deserve special praise for their responsiveness. The Learning and Teaching Excellence Center (LTEC) is sparing no effort to secure the transition to fully virtual courses/classes with all the challenges that this transition entails. Likewise, the Crisis Management team has been working diligently to maximize readiness and mitigate the impact of this crisis. IT staff are maintaining connectivity and other services, and every USEK family member is striving to provide student services as best as possible. In short, a group of extremely dedicated people has been working around the clock to respond to the unprecedented challenges resulting from COVID-19.

This continuous planning and activity will help us transition back to campus when this crisis is over. While I cannot possibly predict how the situation will evolve in the foreseeable future, each individual contribution undoubtedly helps to keep up the good work ethically and professionally. We must all act together to preserve the health and safety of the USEK community by all means and make use of every opportunity to allow our students to complete their term.

I am filled with optimism regarding the resilience of our community, the trajectory of our University and the quality education we are providing to our students, all of which are grounded in our core values and our strong team spirit.

Thank you again for your patience, efforts and positive spirit.

Stay safe,