Dear AMS community,
As Department Chair, I wanted to share with you what we’ve been up to since the University of Alabama closed its campus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting this Monday, March 30, 2020, the university will offer alternative modes of instruction. Faculty members in the AMS Department spent Spring Break putting their classes online so that our currently enrolled students may continue and complete their coursework for the semester. Our faculty and staff are working hard to ensure that this transition goes smoothly, and we are committed to supporting our students throughout this time.
Given the challenges of the present moment, I share your feelings of uncertainty about how things will develop. But please be assured that we will always keep our students’ best interests in mind. For me, being a chair means that I have the privilege of communicating with a wide range of people in the university community: graduate and undergraduate students, incoming and potential students, alumni, permanent and part-time instructors, office staff, fellow department chairs, deans and provosts, and other administrators across the campus. The levels of cooperation and understanding that I’ve seen and received heartens me and confirm my sense that members of the UA community are working diligently to assist one another under extraordinary circumstances.
I strongly encourage everyone to keep following the guidance of scientists and medical experts to reduce the spread of the virus. The basics include washing your hands, keeping six feet apart from one another when out in public, and making only necessary trips to grocery stores or pharmacies. If this crisis clarifies anything, it’s that we really are all in this together.
Stay safe, and my best to all,
Edward Tang
Professor and Chair
Department of American Studies