Carnegie Mellon University

March 18, 2020

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon University Faculty,

This week we moved all Carnegie Mellon courses across all of our campuses and locations to remote and online teaching. I want to take a moment to thank our faculty and staff for your creativity, commitment and determination in making this transition and supporting the world’s effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. In less than two weeks, over 3000 courses transitioned online! This is truly an accomplishment during this unprecedented time in our history and I have never been more proud to be a member of the Carnegie Mellon community.

I want to recognize the many efforts and tireless hours that our faculty and staff have put in to get us here. In particular I want to thank Dr. Marsha Lovett, Associate Vice Provost and Director of the Eberly Teaching Center, and Dr. Stan Waddell, Chief Information Officer, and their dedicated teams for their expertise, advice and devotion. I am also incredibly grateful to the network of departmental liaisons who have been working closely with the Eberly Center team and faculty during this time. Finally, I want to recognize and thank our academic leadership who have been resolute in working through the many logistical and policy issues to support our teaching and learning continuity.

Let me say again, I am grateful to each and every one of you for the many hours you have put in and your continued support to help us prepare and support the safety of our community. Undoubtedly, we will continue to encounter challenges in the days ahead and I know we can pull together to overcome them in creative and innovative ways. As I have said before, it is our people who make Carnegie Mellon University the world-class institution it is. I am so deeply proud of, and grateful to, all of you for doing the work that matters.

Faculty, please share my gratitude with the staff who have been tireless and diligent in supporting you during this unexpected transition.

Sincerely,

Jim Garrett, Provost