Dear SRS Colleagues,
The passing of a new year is often a time for celebration and setting new goals, but this year is different because our community is coping with yet another tragedy. Hundreds of Boulder County residents lost their homes in the Marshall Fire, including dozens of °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼ faculty, staff and students. Many others had to flee their homes and have yet to be able to return to them.
Within SRS, some of our co-workers are among those who will have to rebuild their homes and their lives. We share a sense of loss but can only imagine what they are experiencing. I’m grateful to those who have given their time to care for others, and I thank everyone who is taking on even more work as we provide time to those in our community who need to recover.Â
The campus worked to make a number of resources available for those impacted by the fires, and Boulder County has established a for those who need community resources. If you need help, please take advantage of these resources, and if you know someone who needs help, please guide them toward assistance.
The catastrophic Marshall Fire occurred as COVID cases began to rise in Boulder County, which caused us to delay the start of in-person instruction for the spring semester. While cases are increasing, we are fortunate that CU is a highly vaccinated community, and vaccines and boosters are proving to be very effective in mitigating adverse health outcomes.
Nonetheless, I know many of you are concerned about the spread of the virus. As the chancellor noted in announcing the remote start to the semester, we encourage employees to work remotely for the first two weeks of the semester, unless your presence on campus is necessary to support operational continuity. Talk to your supervisor about what work mode would work best for you over the coming weeks based on staffing needs.
At the same time, my leadership team and I are aware that the campus will likely face staffing shortages as people recover from COVID, care for family members, and cope with the aftermath of the fire and other challenges. For now, I ask that we continue to support one another and work together to prioritize our core functions in support of the university’s teaching, research and service missions.
Our community has experienced many traumas over the past two years, and you may be feeling tired and discouraged. We’ve asked so much of you, and time and time again you have answered the call. I continue to be both humbled by your generosity and proud to be a member of the SRS team.
We’re all experiencing stress, and everything might not go as smoothly as we’d like. As such, I have one more request: Please be patient and kind to each other. When someone can’t respond immediately to an email or there’s a delay in approvals––please remember that the person with whom you’re interacting may be filling in for a colleague who lost a home or is caring for a child who can’t go to school because of COVID.
As a community, we can help each other heal.
With gratitude,
Pat