Resilience
Our community around the world has been rocked by the devastating COVID-19 global pandemic. It was heartbreaking to witness our students packing up and leaving campus early. The human toll has been devastating, especially for those with family and friends in the most affected regions and for those most vulnerable due to financial insecurity, homelessness and other forms of inequality. It is at times such as these that our connectedness is most vital.
This issue of Momentum went to press in April, after our deep-rooted, immersive, studio-based teaching and learning pedagogies had to be adapted. The remaining weeks of the semester will not be the same as before. Nevertheless, we are forging ahead to teach remotely and to confront the very core of creative teaching and learning. Artists, designers and scholars have always reinvented practices in times of crisis, and the current response at RISD is impressive. In spite of distance, faculty members are integrating remarkable teaching innovations, and we are also evolving new ways to care for one another, to critique and to embrace community. Our focus is on supporting everyone’s health and well-being, participating in civic commitments to our broader communities and ensuring that our students can meaningfully earn the credits they need to complete the semester.
Although our campus has changed dramatically, you will read earlier stories that now seem more important than ever. They serve as powerful reminders of the many ways the RISD community steps up for one another—and will continue to do so.
I hope you will immerse yourself in these stories of generosity and service that so aptly define who we are. Our students with financial need—buoyed by the financial aid made possible through philanthropy—are developing powerful, creative practices. Donors have given generously to establish scholarships, support learning and add to our Student Emergency Fund. Hundreds of alumni have stepped forward to offer career guidance to our students and recent graduates through the RISD Network. I encourage alumni who haven’t signed up to please consider it.
As senior Shelby Bernard 20 ID said, the week she left campus, “It has been a rough week, but my life as a designer is just getting started. Pandemics don’t cancel creativity.” You can read more about this remarkable creative professional here.
These are difficult times, but we have reason to be hopeful. What we learn and how we grow will mark this time. Together, we will emerge stronger and more resilient. I send my deep wishes for good health and well-being to all of you.
Rosanne Somerson 76
President
