Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles: Light Within the Tunnel
July 30, 2021
Colleagues,
Last week I wrote about my experience climbing a Mayan pyramid and how another climber helped me down when I experienced panic and fear of falling. Like the helpful fellow traveler, Westchester Community College is a community that cares for and supports each other and our students, especially now as we climb back from the overwhelming challenges, fear, and anxiety producing pandemic of the past year.
We’ve had no playbook for the past sixteen months, yet we’ve been charting a course and finding new capacities and discoveries along the way. Our new safety protocols, data tracking systems, and other protective measures have brought us to a point where we can work together to figure out how to return to our worksites while we continue to focus on our mission and on serving our students and community.
As a community college, we highly value making ourselves available to students where and when they need us. That is why with enhanced safety provisions and protocols in place, all employees may begin returning to their workstations effective August 16. Additionally, we will continue our efforts to codify a flexible work arrangements policy that honors our mission and our people.
Finally, we have invited two officials from the Westchester County Department of Health, Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Ambler and FIDSA Medical Director Dr. Dial Hewlett, to lead an information session for employees and students on August 4. They will provide updates and answer questions about COVID vaccines, the Delta variant, and workplace safety protocols. There will be additional communications providing details and answering questions you have posed. All this is to say that we are beginning to see light within the tunnel. We hear you, we feel you, and we are working with you to continue as a caring educational institution and workplace.
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President