Dear AULA Students, Staff and Faculty,
The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus requires unprecedented measures and our AU Chancellor has therefore made the decision to temporarily close all Antioch campus facilities to safeguard the well-being of our students, staff, faculty, and communities. (See below)
Therefore, Antioch University Los Angeles will close access to all campus facilities as of this evening, Wednesday, March 18th at 7:00 PM.
A few designated staff and administrators will complete the remaining tasks on campus, behind closed doors, to fully migrate all operations remotely by this Friday. Many of our staff and faculty have already been working remotely and access to the building will be extremely limited once we close. Anyone requiring entry must first gain approval from either COO Sandy Lee, or me, Mark Hower, your Provost.
Please be assured, we are not closing operations; we are moving to remote operations for the short term. The faculty, staff and administrators at AULA are committed to supporting all students as you continue to pursue your education and your life goals during such challenging times. Know that we are in this together with you.
We will continue to operate our regular business during normal hours, albeit remotely. Each department head has been asked to coordinate the specific ways in which they can respond to students and their other constituents. This includes a call center for Student Services and Admissions. The Library will close its doors but has established numerous means for supporting student and faculty. The Teaching and Learning Center tutors will also be available through Zoom and phone by appointment. Classes will be held as scheduled through Zoom or other remote process.
Further specific information will soon be distributed about how to stay connected with your programs and support offices once all of our operations are fully remote. We will also provide this information on our website, outgoing phone messages, emails and more. I encourage you to remain in contact with your program chairs and staff. Of course, contact me if you have questions or comments. University leadership will be monitoring the status of the outbreak, and I will keep you informed about resumption of operations on campus.
Thank you for being an important part of our Antioch community. I look forward to seeing you in a Zoom session, reading emails, and staying in touch. Please keep me informed about how you are doing. We will get through this together, and I look forward to seeing you in person in the not-too-distant future.
Sincerely,
Mark Hower, PhD
Provost, AULA
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Announcement from Chancellor Groves re: Temporary Closures
To: Antioch University Students, Faculty and Staff
From: Chancellor Bill Groves and University Leadership
Subject: Temporary closure of Antioch campus facilities through April 30, 2020
Our collective efforts to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus will be the only difference between catastrophic levels of sickness and a shorter pandemic that will take a less destructive course. We all hope for the latter, but we are also increasingly aware that half-measures and less disruptive steps will not do what is needed to avoid an unacceptable outcome.
So in order to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, their families and communities, we will be temporarily closing Antioch facilities in Seattle, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Keene, and Yellow Springs, Ohio through April 30, 2020. Members of our campus leadership have been planning for such an eventuality and will continue to pursue arrangements for remote instruction and work, as well as for the maintenance of essential services. Antioch facilities will close no later than Friday, March 20 at 4:00 p.m (PDT). All university instruction and campus services will continue remotely.
As has been noted from the start of this crisis, our absolute first priority has to be everyone’s health and safety. The rising numbers of students who have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus and the exponential growth of the numbers of cases across the country make this decision unavoidable. Drastic and immediate actions at the local, state, national and global level are taking place, and we believe that these are essential to our collective and individual well-being. We all must do our part by acting quickly to minimize opportunities to spread the virus.
I recognize the extraordinary effort on everyone’s part as we pull together to hold together. Thank you is clearly not enough, but there are few words that can express our appreciation for your commitment to our students and Antioch.