Dear Students,
Here’s hoping your time away from campus allowed you to reconnect and recharge – to reconnect with people you care about and to recharge your enthusiasm for learning and growth.
As we head into the spring semester, let me first acknowledge how proud I am of you – the fall was tough on everyone, but you met the challenges head on and did better than we could have imagined.
Interim Dean Debora Wenger
I, personally, have reasons to be hopeful that the spring semester is going to be better:
- The vaccine rollout is ramping up and as more and more people are inoculated, that should make our campus and our communities safer in the coming months. In the meantime, we saw in the fall semester that following the university’s safety protocols does help to protect us, and we will continue to stick with what we know is a good thing. Please read your Monday Morning Memo carefully each week to stay on top of COVID testing and vaccination updates.
- We also know more about what works and what doesn’t in this learning environment. You and your instructors should be better prepared this semester to focus on getting the most that we can out of our time in the classroom, online or on Zoom. Everyone has reason to head into the spring with more confidence.
We do recognize, though, that things won’t always be easy this semester. Please practice self-care and reach out to me, your faculty or any of our staff if you start to struggle. The earlier you seek help, the easier it will be to get back on track.
Remember, too, that the university provides counseling services. You can call the University Counseling Center at 662-915-3784, Monday-Friday (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) or the UM Dept. of Psychology at 662-915-7385.
We’ll try to communicate more often and look for additional ways to connect as the semester continues. We encourage you to follow us on social media – just log onto your favorite platform and look for “umjourimc”. In the meantime, stay safe and remember that we are stronger together.
Sincerely,
Dr. Deb Wenger
Interim Dean
drwenger@olemiss.edu
662-380-3046
