Now more than ever, your friendship sustains us as we, along with many others, find ourselves in uncharted waters, navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 1, I was planning to inaugurate a brief monthly e-mail update to keep you apprised of current events and ongoing research at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. But given the current state of affairs, now is the appropriate time to launch my monthly Dean’s Update and add my voice to any previous communications you may have received from the University.
First, I want to assure everyone, especially our parents, that the leadership of the University of Miami is actively responding to the rapidly-evolving situation and taking thoughtful and precise steps to protect the safety of all who study, work, and interact with us.
The Rosenstiel School campus continues to operate its research activities and academic programs following the guidance of public health and government agencies. I’m extremely proud of our faculty and staff who have come together, as they always do, to implement the following measures:
- Organize plans to telecommute for faculty and staff;
- Monitor ongoing research involving animals such as corals, fish, and other marine life that require 24/7 care;
- Implement steps to ensure delivery of our academic classes and lab activities online within 10 days before the beginning of classes resuming on March 23.
Together, we leveraged our collective can-do ’Cane spirit to provide online delivery of our academic programs and ensure our students complete their studies for the rest of the semester.
As daunting as the current situation appears, it also presents an opportunity for us as Earth scientists and educators to explore and learn valuable lessons from this pandemic. This crisis is giving atmospheric scientists an unprecedented opportunity to analyze the impact of a considerable reduction of human activities on the radiation balance of the planet, which is the key parameter in our climate studies.
For further information about how the University of Miami is communicating with the community, please visit our Coronavirus website. To keep up to date with what is happening at the Rosenstiel School, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our Newsroom. Until we can meet in person again, I invite you take a virtual tour of our campus. I look forward to answering any questions you may have and can be reached at dean@rsmas.miami.edu.
Be safe and be well.
Roni Avissar
Dean
University of Miami Rosenstiel School or Marine and Atmospheric Science
