On April 16, 2020, Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab shared this update:
To Hunter College Faculty and Staff:
We hope that you continue to stay healthy and safe during these uncertain times. You have all worked extraordinarily hard to move us online, and now that our transition to remote is supported and running smoothly, we ask that you turn your attention to summer 2020.
This morning, the Daily News published my call to action on summer school during coronavirus. Hunter College is leading the charge to transform the way colleges around the country think about summer school. With your help, we are ramping up to make Summer 2020 a productive time academically for all our students—an imperative at a time when they will have limited access to summer jobs, internships, and travel due to social distancing restrictions.
We need your help, efforts, and expertise to make Hunter’s ambitious summer school plans a reality. You can start by letting us know how we can help you create the best possible pedagogical experience online this summer. For this purpose we have assembled a top-notch team to coordinate our efforts, in close coordination with Provost Lon Kaufman, Vice President for Student Affairs Eija Ayravainen, and our academic deans. Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Brian Maasjo will focus on strategic outreach to students to ensure they’re getting the advising and financial support they need. Associate Provost Jenny Tuten will continue her excellent work supporting faculty as they transition instruction to online platforms; you can learn more about our available resources. From our student success office, Associate Provost Mike Steiper will utilize our various analytic tools to ensure the classes we are developing and offering meet our students’ needs and keep them on track towards their Hunter degrees.
Our aim, despite this difficult time, is to work with you to make this the most effective and enriching summer school for all our students and to provide them with much-needed resources to fast-track their education. We hope that you will join us in sounding the call for summer school. For those of you interested in getting more involved with these efforts, please contact your department chair, program head, or director to discuss how your work can fit into this broader strategic effort. Thank you again for all you have done to make this transition possible this spring and for your help as we move into summer.
With great appreciation,
Jennifer J. Raab
