August Message from President Marrero

August 3, 2020

Good Morning Colleagues,

As of today, Phase 3 of our Initial Return to Campus Plan is underway as faculty return to campus and as we all begin final preparations for the start of fall semester. As a reminder, the email you received on August 1 detailed several return-to-work options through Human Resources for employees who seek extended work flexibility for continued childcare needs in light of recent school district decisions.

I want to convey my sincere appreciation to the faculty for your hard work and adaptability in preparation for this upcoming semester. You have been asked to modify face-to-face courses and be creative and innovative in order to educate our students with the same level of service and commitment we pride ourselves on. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed – I am inspired and grateful for your dedication to our students!

We continue to communicate frequently via email, updated FAQs, bi-monthly meetings with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and Staff Council, as well as town halls. Please plan to join me virtually on August 12, at 10 a.m., for our annual State of the University Address. The format will be different than previous years, just as our upcoming year will be. We must remain flexible as we continue to navigate this changing environment and the modifications that will come as we progress through the semester. I look forward to sharing updates with you as we set the stage for the upcoming academic year. More details on the State of the University Address will be coming soon.

Before the new academic year begins, I invite you to visit the Performance Excellence tile on your my.georgiasouthern.edu homepage, where you can view each division leader’s annual scorecard report for the past fiscal year as well as each cabinet member’s 90-day actions. The scorecard provides a measurement of each division’s progress toward the key performance indicators aligned with the University’s Strategic Plan. The 90-Day Actions tab allows you to review, in real time, what your leadership is focused on accomplishing. These actions are updated frequently and allow us to review and continue to progress, assess and/or refocus as needed, toward our goals. The work that each of you do every day contributes to our progress, so it is very important to me that you know these goals and that you are able to actively see your contribution to Georgia Southern’s success.

After input from many of our students, alumni, faculty, and staff, our Inclusive Excellence Action Plan is almost ready for distribution. Tenets of this plan will be embedded within the annual goals and actions of each division, department, and individual employee. I look forward to sharing the plan with you and working together to achieve the goals laid out within the plan.

We have been preparing extensively to meet the challenges that will arise when the academic year begins. Just one example of this is the implementation of our new CARES Center, which is designed as another tool to help mitigate the spread of the virus on our campuses. CARES Center team members are graciously providing their time to care for us, so please exercise our core values of collaboration and integrity when interacting with the center. It’s not an easy job, but it’s a significant job, and I want to thank them for their willingness to serve.

Together, this new center – along with social distancing protocols, use of face coverings, and our enhanced cleaning measures – will help us to promote the health and safety of our university community.

Finally, please remember that we continue to monitor the impact of the virus daily and are in frequent communication with state and local public health officials, the University System of Georgia, as well as local government and healthcare administrators so that we can continue to make informed decisions as we navigate this changing environment. I ask that you continue to remain flexible as new information comes and we must adjust accordingly. Please continue to read through the information that is shared. It is each of our responsibility to remain informed and up-to-date with current protocols and practices that will allow us to navigate this semester successfully.

Colleagues – Georgia Southern is indeed a special place – a resilient, tough, roll-up-our-sleeves kind of place. Through these challenging times, we must support each other and run the race together – albeit six feet apart! Thank you for your continued flexibility, support, and hard work for Eagle Nation.

Sincerely,

Kyle

Last updated: 4/2/2022