Updates to the SHA Community on Coronavirus
Update: March 18, 2020 at 4:30 P.M.
Dean Upneja and SHA Faculty held a virtual Town Hall meeting to answer students’ questions. If you missed it, view it here.
Update: March 18, 2020 at 12:15 P.M.
By now you have seen President Brown’s memo outlining the very difficult decision to forego further on-campus teaching and activities for the remainder of the Spring semester 2020. This decision was not taken lightly and only stresses the truly remarkable situation that we are in as a global community.
This decision will leave you with a number of questions, many of which we won’t be able to answer right now as we all grapple with this news and our new reality for the foreseeable future. I assure you we will answer those questions and continue to communicate with you regularly. For now, we must come together even more as a community to support each other.
We promise that SHA will work tirelessly to make certain that our community remains connected and engaged. For our 2020 graduates, we will find a way, even if virtually, to celebrate all that you have accomplished and endured during this year, as well as during your entire career at SHA.
This afternoon, at 4:30 P.M., we will hold a virtual Town Hall meeting through Zoom: https://bostonu.zoom.us/j/795935026. This will be an opportunity for students to ask questions and voice their opinions. Please understand that we will not have all of the answers. However, we are completely committed to you, the students, and helping you complete the semester.
We also understand that social distancing is hard, but it does not have to be social isolation. To this end, several members of the SHA community will be hosting virtual meetings. These will not be academic in nature and instead will focus on the SHA community. Please look out for communications from Dorian Gold-Diamond, Emma Jacobson, and Nhi Do in the coming days.
I can tell you that I am sad. I know that this is not how any of us expected to start 2020, and certainly not how any of us expected to end this academic year. But, I know that we will persevere. I have been so inspired by the outpouring of support and feedback we have received from our students, faculty, and staff as we venture into new waters. The resilience SHA has shown has made me proud to be a member of this community.
Sincerely Yours,
Arun
Arun Upneja, Ph.D.
Update: March 16, 2020 at 1:40 P.M.
Dear SHA students,
I wanted to reach out to you as we started remote classes earlier today. These are unprecedented times for all of us. Faculty has been busy transitioning your classes to a remote format. I understand that this is very stressful for everyone, so we ask that you be flexible and patient this week. Please know that everyone at SHA and BU as a whole is working hard to make sure that you have an uninterrupted educational experience this semester with the goal of maintaining a safe environment for our entire community. Despite the unusual nature of switching to remote teaching in the middle of the semester, BU administration and SHA faculty and staff are committed to ensuring that you have an outstanding learning environment.
As you can imagine, the hospitality industry is bracing for impact from the coronavirus. Hotels and restaurants are seeing a dramatic drop in business with many hotels seeing occupancies less than 30%. I just saw a note from the GM of the Mandarin Oriental that they are trying to provide services like house cleaning in an effort to keep their workers employed and paid. There are still many “unknowns” regarding how the recent events will impact the job market and how this will affect your personal plans for summer work experiences and post-graduation employment for our seniors.
Now is the perfect time to schedule a remote career coaching session with Meg Radunich or Maureen Riccuti through Handshake to discuss how recent events will impact your personal job search strategy in both the short and long-term. We are here to support you and we will navigate the recent changes in the global job market together.
Please note a couple of important points below.
Our goal is that all class meetings will run as scheduled on eastern standard time. Please keep in mind that if you are experiencing technical issues, or any other issues regarding working in different time zones, please reach out to your instructor and communicate these issues. Working together will be a key factor to successful transitioning for all. In regard to fall advising and registration, your director of student services, Molly Kate Carven and your faculty advisors will reach out to you to schedule virtual meetings.
For now, until April 13th all in person classes, meetings, gatherings, will be postponed. Unfortunately, that includes our Leadership Summit and the SHA gala. The BU community is monitoring this situation closely and any updates will be communicated to you as we get them. For the latest information and questions and answers, please refer to this website
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/bu-all-classes-online-coronavirus/.
Please note that, as of now, the SHA building will remain open to ensure uninterrupted service to SHA students. Although ALL classes will be held remotely, we will be available to assist you. Please contact us via email, phone, and Zoom.
Here is a list of emails for your reference:
General questions: busha@bu.edu
Registration / academic advising: mkcarven@bu.edu
Career advising: hcareers@bu.edu
Student employment: hfitzsim@bu.edu
Graduate affairs: msieber@bu.edu
If you have any concerns, feel free to reach out to any of us at SHA. We are ready to help in whatever way we can to help you through this transition.
I wish you all the best. Please stay safe and healthy.
Sincerely,
Arun
Arun Upneja, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
School of Hospitality Administration
March 11, 2020 at 3:57 P.M.
Dear SHA Community,
In light of the announcement from President Brown and Provost Morrison, all BU classes will be taught remotely from Monday, March 16th until April 13th, 2020.
Over the last few days, everyone at SHA (faculty and staff) have been working hard to transition to a remote teaching platform. We have worked with each faculty member to get them up and running by Monday. We ask that you be flexible during this time as we transition from in-person classes to remote classes. Please note that the faculty and staff at SHA are committed to making the transition as smooth as possible.
Despite our best efforts, I expect that the first few days are going to have a few hiccups, so please be patient. The electronic platforms we will be using are Blackboard and Zoom. For technical support, you may reach out to IThelp@bu.edu. Faculty will provide a zoom link through which you can log in to participate live in classes. The classes will be held at the same time as they are normally scheduled. Please be aware of the time differences if you are not in the same time zone as Boston.
As we continue to receive information, we will pass it on to you. In the meantime please feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have. Per Governor Baker’s declaration of a state of emergency yesterday (03.10.2020), we encourage everyone in our community to:
1) limit unnecessary travel
2) stay home as much as possible
3) reduce or avoid participation in large gatherings
4) seek medical attention if you feel sick (Students can contact Student Health Services at 617-353-3575)
Additional information about Boston University’s broader preparedness plan for COVID-19, including an FAQ is available here: https://www.bu.edu/covid-19-information/
Sincerely,
Arun