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Campus Working Groups

Academic Planning Group

The Academic Planning Working Group (APWG) was charged with identifying options for offering high-quality educational programs under a variety of possible scenarios in the fall semester and through the 2020-21 academic year, and has issued the Report and Recommendations of the Academic Planning Working Group.

The President’s Cabinet and the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee (IPPC) have reviewed the report, together with a first draft of a "Skidmore College Reopening Safety Action Plan" to guide reopening under Phase 2 of Governor Cuomo’s plan for the state. 

Read President-Elect Marc Conner’s response to the APWG report. 

These documents provide strong foundations on which the College will continue building potential plans and considering a small number of different possible scenarios in the coming weeks. While much of the plan is yet to be finalized, the following three determinations have been made:  

  • To accept APWG’s recommendation that the 2020-21 academic year begin during the week of Monday, Aug. 24 (exact date to be determined), with classes ending on Friday, Nov. 20, and to request that the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP) review and act on this recommendation. Under this calendar, exams, final projects and other components would be completed remotely after Thanksgiving. 
  • Instruction will need to be designed for delivery through combinations of in-person, remote and blended modes. 
  • The schedule and plans for the spring 2021 semester should be determined in the fall, based on our experience in the fall semester and the latest health guidance. 

The College’s aspiration is, and will continue to be, to bring as many Skidmore students to campus in the fall as possible, while complying with health and safety guidance from New York state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health organizations. 

The following scenarios are under active consideration based on the Academic Planning Working Group’s findings and recommendations, and on the work of other administrative teams. Research and discussions on these possible scenarios remain ongoing: 

  • The cohort concept: Two classes of students would come to campus in the fall and the remaining two would come to campus in the spring.  
  • The single-class concept: Just first-year students would come to campus.  
  • The all-remote concept: No students could come to campus and all instruction must be delivered remotely.  
  • The "improved public-health" concept: A majority of students – somewhere in the range of 75% to nearly 100% – would be on campus, recognizing that at least some will almost certainly remain off campus for various reasons. 

The longer the College can wait before making key decisions about how many students to bring to campus, the better the information we will have from health agencies and the more informed those decisions will be. Each possible scenario involving on-campus instruction would have the members of the new entering class, the Class of 2024, in residence during the fall.  

Members

  • Karen Kellogg, Associate Professor and Director of Environmental Sciences and Studies
  • Peter Murray, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy
  • Mary Crone Odekon, Professor of Physics and Kenan Chair of Liberal Arts
  • Thomas (Pat) Oles, Associate Professor of Social Work
  • Sarah Sweeney, Associate Professor of Art
  • Michael Orr, Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs (chair)
  • Pat Fehling, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Infrastructure and Faculty Affairs
  • Cerri Banks, Dean of Students/Vice President for Student Affairs
  • Jai Gil, incoming SGA Vice President for Academic Affairs (due to illness, Jai Gil was replaced by Haja Bah, Vice President of Club Affairs, in late May)
  • Amira Silverman, incoming senior senator

 

COVID-19 Working Group

Skidmore’s COVID-19 working group began leading the College’s response to the pandemic when it first emerged in early 2020. The group established a website and provided regular updates, resources and communications to the College community during the height of the crisis.   
 
In recent weeks, the group, in conjunction with the Academic Working Group and the President’s Cabinet, began developing guidelines for safely reopening the campus, specifying social distancing protocols, determining how residential spaces should be organized, and establishing guidelines and capacity of dining areas, classrooms, labs, offices and studios. 

Members

  • Cerri Banks, Dean of Students/Vice President for Student Affairs
  • Tim Munro, Director of Campus Safety
  • Dan Rodecker, Director of Facilities Services
  • Julia Routbort, Associate Dean of Students for Health and Wellness
  • Patty Bosen, Director of Health Services
  • Cori Filson, Director of Off Campus Study and Exchanges
  • Michael Orr, Dean of the Faculty/Vice President of Academic Affairs
  • Pat Fehling, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Infrastructure and Faculty Affairs
  • Mike Sposili, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations and College Events
  • Mark Miller, Director, Dining Services
  • Kelley Patton-Ostrander, Assistant Vice President for Financial Planning and Auxiliary Services
  • Ann Marie Przywara, Associate Dean for Residential Life and Student Conduct
  • Gail Cummings-Danson, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Athletics
  • Diane O’Connor, Director of News and External Relations
  • Martin Mbugua, Vice President for Communications and Marketing
  • Dwayne Zuhlke, Associate Director of Human Resources
  • Kim Bombard, Risk Management Assistant
  • David Robakidze, President, SGA
  • Rachael Borthwick, Incoming President of SGA

 

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