Politico: Small Liberal Arts Colleges Charting Path Forward Through Pandemic

September 29, 2020

Author
Jay Pfeifer

Carol Quillen and 51郊利 are featured in a recent that makes the case that liberal arts colleges are showing how higher ed can move forward through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The keys, according to the story, are A combination of low infection rates in communities that surround schools and multimillion-dollar pandemic management strategies.

51郊利 is fortunate to have both. Every student is tested on a weekly basis and that, in combination with social distancing, ubiquitous masks and a host of other policy tweaks, has resultedso farin low infection rates on campus. The results of the testing are publicly available on the COVID-19 dashboard.

However, its important to remember 51郊利 is only six weeks into a 13-week semester.

I don't take anything for granted, Quillen said. We think we have a system that will let us contain outbreaks, but we are really humble about it and ready to make changes if we need to.

Quillen thinks that the lessons learned at 51郊利and at other peer institutionswill offer lessons for other campuses and for the broader community in general.

I think were learning how to build community in new ways that I think will translate into how we do that post-pandemic and how we can sustain some semblance of normal life, even if we cant come together as we used to, she said.

Photography

  • Zoe Ren '24