Message from Dean Esquith

March 19, 2020

Dear Members of the RCAH Community,

This week, like you, I have been trying to keep track of new COVID-19 developments near and far, become more and not less remotely connected to my students and colleagues, and attend to the health and safety needs of family, friends and acquaintances. And, like you, the everyday work that we all shoulder in one form or another hasn't disappeared; it still has to be done by many hands, remotely or not.

In other words, it's been a long week for all of us. I could see it and hear it on Zoom Thursday afternoon with my students. They too have been adapting, some of them to even more difficult circumstances than we face. 

I think it is fair to say that not only has it been a long week, it has been a hard year. Recently I urged RCAH to "saddle up" and once again give it our all. I still feel that way. At the moment this requires a helping hand as well as a foot in the stirrup. This is what RCAH does well collectively: lend each other a hand and step up together. This morning, 30 RCAH faculty and staff spent two hours online together doing just that—listening carefully to the challenges we face, sharing strategies, and posing new, important questions.

As I've listened to students, faculty, and staff talk about how they are coping, adapting, and caring for one another, I only feel prouder of the community we've built. This is who we are. This is why we matter.

Steve

Stephen L. Esquith, Dean