Dean's Welcome

What will fall semester 2021 bring for us at Gaylord College and OU?

Well, just a few weeks ago we were anticipating one that was normal or at least felt like it. And there's nothing like the start of a fall semester, with returning students and wide-eyed freshmen. The weather is hot but will change soon. Football is just days away. 

The energy level, always high for the fall semester, might even be higher after well more than a year of navigating the pandemic. 

But the news of recent days, with COVID-related cases and hospitalizations on the rise across Oklahoma, has prompted OU to strongly encourage masking in classrooms and elsewhere, and develop incentives to encourage vaccination, particularly among students. 

Still, it'll be different from this time in 2020, when we at Gaylord were challenged to create a classroom schedule for the fall to accommodate small classes in person and large ones remotely, while syncing it to the university's calendar. And that was just one obstacle we faced in trying to give students something that mirrored a normal school year while protecting them, faculty and staff from a deadly virus. 

What lessons at Gaylord have been reinforced by the pandemic? Here are two: trust and grace.

First, trust. As in, trust your colleagues to meet unforeseen challenges. 

Gaylord faculty members switched their mode of instruction – overnight – from in person to Zoom in spring 2020, with little or no training. By doing so, they kept students engaged and on track. And once the fall semester began last August, they faced an even bigger challenge of teaching both in person and, simultaneously, to students online – many of whom were quarantining. 

But they did it with aplomb, ensuring that instruction would continue, no matter what. Which gave our constituencies – particularly students and their families – the assurances that Gaylord and OU were going to handle the pandemic as well as any other institution. The faculty, and staff too, provided stability, to hold us together. 

Second, grace. As in, grant grace to others whenever possible. 

For students 2020 and early 2021 were especially difficult, with or without the pandemic. Consider: Following George Floyd's death came the biggest outcry for racial and social justice in 50 years. Then, one of the most contentious national elections of our lifetimes, an election that many students voted in for the first time. 

One of the biggest challenges of the 2020-21 academic year for our students was weather. Norman was struck by a crippling ice storm before Halloween, prompting electric outages for two weeks that sent students scrambling for safe harbor. In late February came the biggest deep freeze in state history, with classes disrupted for the better part of two weeks.

From these challenges came a general weariness that left many students distraught. Gaylord faculty and staff sensed it, and did their best to try to give students the benefit of the doubt, making accommodations when possible. And I know students were appreciative for it. 

So as another busy semester begins, we at Gaylord College remain in a position of strength. Copious amounts of trust and grace helped make sure of it. 

Boomer Sooner, everyone! 

Ed Kelley, Dean
Class of 1975