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| A Message from Provost Carver |
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Dear Marshall Students,
I am excited to welcome you back for the 2020-2021 academic year. As you know, these are unprecedented times. Now, more than ever, Marshall College has an important role to play in our campus and our world. So it is fitting that we have just launched the celebration of our 50th Anniversary!
Please take a moment to look at the 50th Anniversary web page. It is a work in progress, but we already have some interesting information about the history of Marshall and activities that will be happening throughout the year. You can also keep any eye on Marshall Memos, and our Social Media channels, for up to date information about our celebrations. I want to highlight this week just one program that I am very excited about. The global pandemic we are experiencing disproportionately affects underrepresented and low income people. The history of activism at Marshall, paired with our Anniversary, motivates us to give interested students a chance to work on addressing these inequities. A group of Marshall students and recent Marshall alumni, supported by a mentor from the medical community, have developed a year-long program that will provide students with opportunities for learning about and combating health disparities. If you are interested in medicine, public health, or social justice, this program will be a great way for you to get involved in a major issue in the community. Look for information coming very soon on the website.
I want to also talk a little bit about the Return to Learn program on campus. The best and most up to date information can be found on the Return to Learn website, so I won’t reiterate that. But I want to let you know that since the start of this pandemic, I have been in regular meetings with campus leadership, and I am SO impressed with the thoughtful planning that has gone into making sure that our students are kept safe, and our campus reopens as carefully as possible. Our campus is attacking this pandemic from several fronts, many of which you know about. We are doing a huge amount of testing, and we have very thoughtful plans in the event of any positive tests. We also have some creative and exciting ways of connecting with the community. One example is here: UC San Diego has been chosen by the state to do a test run of an exposure notification app. Imagine that you are in class, or on a bus, and you might be sitting near someone you don’t even know, who might later test positive for the SARS-CoV2 virus. This app exchanges a bluetooth code with the phone of others nearby that you may come in contact with, without even knowing it. It completely protects your privacy; it doesn’t save or send out any information about your location or your identity, but, if someone with the app tests positive, it lets everyone that person has come in contact with know that they may have been exposed. This early information is critical for being able to stop outbreaks before they start, and if enough people have the app, it can go a long way in keeping us safe. So I strongly encourage you to download it!
I’m most impressed that the priorities in all of these discussions have been the safety of the students and the campus community. Even though you may not see all of the planning that goes on behind the scenes, I hope you feel safe knowing that the entire campus is focused on keeping you safe! If there is any way the Marshall staff can support you, please feel free to reach out to me (tmcprovost@ucsd.edu), Dean of Student Affairs Amber Vlasnik (tmcstudentaffairs@ucsd.edu), or Dean of Academic Advising Clare Harrington (tmcadvising@ucsd.edu).
All the best,
Provost Carver |
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