COVID-19 Update

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Dear Fellow Alumni,
 
I hope this message reaches you in good health. As not only RISD’s leader, but as an alumna and a member of this community for so many years, I want to offer my heartfelt thanks for the incredible outpouring of concern for our students as they navigate the unexpected shifts resulting from this global pandemic. As you know, our primary concerns are to keep our community healthy and safe, and to ensure that our students continue to receive a RISD education that does not compromise our standards. 
 
Our faculty have been truly amazing, quickly and creatively rising to the remarkable challenge of inventing new ways to engage remote learning in studio practice areas and liberal arts courses. Our staff have stepped up to support these efforts, some literally working around the clock, navigating rapid changes, many of which have required intense and immediate focus across the institution.
 
I want to assure you that we are providing support for students including financial support. Students with limited financial capacity that makes it difficult to leave campus are being housed and fed here and we have allocated funds to support travel and food insecurity for any student with demonstrated need. Students with existing work-study roles will be paid for the rest of the semester, even though most will not be on campus to fulfill those positions. We fully recognize that many students rely on those funds, and we want their focus to remain on finishing the semester with full attention to their academic work and well-being. 
 
I am very grateful to the many of you throughout the world who have asked how you can help our students financially. We have created a website that we are updating daily as a source of current information. We have also created a more visible link to our existing Student Emergency Fund which was generously established by our Parents + Families Association. Funds donated here will be judiciously and prudently dispersed by our Financial Aid Office with expediency, to lessen the burden on our students with need. If you are interested in assisting, we would be grateful for your support for our students.
 
Please rest assured that we will continue to update our communications. As complex and difficult as this time is, I am encouraged by the generosity of so many of you who have reached out and asked how you can help. This generosity honors who we are as a community, and speaks to how we define our future through our students nurtured by our faculty, staff and worldwide network of alumni. 
 
With appreciation,
Rosanne Somerson
President
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Thursday, March 12, 2020

Dear Alumni,

I am writing to you today as COVID-19 continues to be a rapidly evolving situation across the globe. Travel and public health restrictions to manage the spread of the virus continue to be introduced and have likely impacted many of you.

We hope that you and your families are safe and healthy.

Today RISD announced that classes will transition to remote forms of instruction beginning March 30 through the end of the spring semester. I have included below President Somerson’s message to the campus community for your reference. As you can well imagine, this decision is not taken lightly and reflects RISD’s commitment to the health and safety of the entire RISD community, as well as continuing to deliver a superior education to our students. 

The RISD community extends beyond our physical campus and is, now more than ever, global and interconnected. While challenging and disruptive, this crisis is an opportunity for us to come together to support each other and the institution we love. Opportunities for you to support RISD include:

• Support fellow alumni and students by becoming a mentor on the RISD Network.
• Give to RISD in any amount to support current students and the programs on which they rely. This is especially important as the financial implications of COVID-19 are unclear and may have an adverse impact on our campus.
• Become a volunteer leader in a regional club or affinity group.
• Offer internships to RISD students and post job opportunities for recent grads.
• Participate on an alumni leadership committee or task force.
• Offer to host a summer welcome event for students and families new to RISD, and welcome recent graduates in your area.

Many of our alumni clubs and affinity groups have spent weeks planning events taking place over the next several months and we encourage leaders to contact the Office of Alumni Relations to discuss event cancellation or postponement, details of which will be broadcast to the entire community.

Thank you for your ongoing support of RISD. My very best wishes to you all, may you and your families and friends be safe and well during this unprecedented time.

Sincerely,
Donald Choi BArch 82 PT 07
President
RISD Alumni Association
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Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020
Subject: Important Community Update on COVID-19
From: President Rosanne Somerson

Dear members of the RISD community,

I write you today as COVID-19 continues to evolve. I know our community feels anxious and uncertain about what lies ahead - please know that a number of people across our institution have been working around the clock to determine how best to keep our community safe while maintaining continuity, and I am grateful to each of them for their tireless efforts.

While there continue to be no known cases of COVID-19 at RISD and the recent tests on three Brown students came back negative, the potential for the situation to change is real and cannot be ignored. My paramount concern is your health and wellbeing. I am also focused on our responsibility as good citizens to help mitigate risk for our surrounding communities. After a great deal of consideration, RISD’s leadership team and I have decided that we must alter our plans for the remainder of the spring semester.

Starting Monday, March 16, we are canceling all in-person gatherings greater than 100 attendees for the remainder of the semester. If you are in charge of an event of this size, you must cancel, reschedule or move it online.

Friday, March 20 will be the final day that classes meet in-person. Spring break will be held as usual from March 23 to 27. As of Monday, March 30 through the end of the semester, all classes will be taught remotely.

On Sunday, March 22 at noon, residence halls will close for the remainder of the semester. If you reside on campus and are not able to return to your permanent residence, we have established a process by which you may request accommodations.  The Office of Residence Life will communicate with you today about that process.

All institutional offices will remain open and operations will continue as usual until further notice.

We have many more decisions to make in the coming days and weeks, including what these changes will mean for institutional milestones like Collection, Grad Show and Commencement. We will move as quickly as possible to address these open questions and appreciate your patience as plans are made.

These changes will be disruptive and challenging for all of us but I believe this is the right course of action for our community’s wellbeing. No one navigates difficult situations and uncertainty better than artists and designers. I have every confidence that, with flexibility, creativity and grace, we can come together as a community to persevere through this extraordinary time together.

Sincerely,
Rosanne Somerson
President