As noted by Provost Rick Muma earlier this week, the spread of COVID-19 has required us all to adapt to a new and unprecedented reality. We have been forced to examine how we work and how we live in a world where what was acceptable yesterday is dangerous today. And while modern technology has perhaps made this somewhat simpler in practice, it has by no means made it easier to accept.

As our state begins to implement Ad Astra: A Plan to Reopen Kansas, we too are beginning to develop and implement plans for the university’s short- and long-term future. This plan – Shockers United – is a culmination of seven working groups across campus, each comprised of students, faculty and staff, and each tasked with examining a different facet of university operations that must now be modified to a new normal as we seek to coexist with and thrive in spite of this virus.

• Preopening: now through May 25
• Reopening/summer: May 26-July 31
• Fall semester: August 2020 and beyond

Each of these phases brings new questions, new risks and new requirements – some of which we cannot even contemplate in this moment. We may need to adapt and modify as we go. But be assured that at every step of the way, we remain committed to the following: (1) prioritizing the health, safety and well-being of our entire campus community; (2) preserving the student experience; and (3) ensuring the financial health of the university to further our commitment to deliver quality instruction and engage in innovative research.

To this end, we have reorganized the existing COVID-19 News web page, which is the official and primary source of the university’s operations under COVID-19. Within this main page, you will now find a new page – wichita.edu/shockersunited – that contains details and FAQs about the Shockers United plan. Each of these pages will be updated as the university navigates through this gradual reopening.

We will also continue to send out additional information to faculty, staff and students via campus-wide messaging, WSU Today and Shocker Blast. In fact, faculty and staff can see additional information about training for all supervisors and employees in Friday’s WSU Today. And we will continue to provide all of you with the opportunity to (virtually) meet face to face with both of us and others in regularly scheduled town halls.

Each of you – student, employee, parent, community member – will undoubtedly have questions during the next few weeks. Just as we will continue to have more information to share. We encourage you to first review the websites for the most up-to-date information your questions. If you don’t see an answer, please don’t hesitate to send an email to president@wichita.edu.

We have said this before, but it never stops being true: Shocker Nation is truly amazing. Your continued compassion for one another and resilience in the face of uncertainty is beyond compare. Our future is bright and we will get through this together.

Our deepest appreciation for all you do and your unwavering commitment to the health, safety and the future of Shocker Nation,

President Jay Golden and Provost Rick Muma

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Wichita State is distinctive for opening pathways to applied learning, applied research and career opportunities, alongside unsurpassed classroom, laboratory and online education. The university's beautiful 330-acre main campus is a supportive, rapidly expanding learn-work-live-play environment, where students gain knowledge and credentials to prepare for fulfilling lives and careers. Students enjoy a wide selection of day, evening and summer courses in more than 200 areas of study at the main campus and other locations throughout the metro area and online. WSU's approximately 16,000 students come from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 other countries. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.