Coronavirus response, decisions and actions

Since late January, the College has closely monitored global developments regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, focusing on the safety and well-being of the members of our campus community, near and far.

Key to the College’s proactive response was the creation in February of a COVID-19 Institutional Response Team, chaired by Kimberly Sluis ’99, vice president for student affairs and strategic initiatives. The cross-functional team has monitored guidance from health agencies and established contingency and communication plans and actions.

When the domestic outbreak accelerated rapidly in March, the College ensured students could continue their academic progress via remote instruction and the institution could function via remote work. The campus received frequent updates from President Troy Hammond and others.

JANUARY 28 The campus receives the first message regarding the coronavirus, including notification of the first confirmed case in Chicago.

FEBRUARY 26 First meeting of COVID-19 Institutional Response Team is held.

MARCH 2 The College launches a website that provides coronavirus resources and updates and answers frequently asked questions.

MARCH 3 A CDC Level 3 travel warning includes Italy, where four North Central students are studying abroad. The College communicates with the students, strongly recommending they return home.

MARCH 12 The College announces the suspension of in-person undergraduate classes effective March 16 through the end of the spring semester. On March 16 and 17, faculty finalize preparations for

The tradition continues: College houses the heroes of a new age

When the College announced a partnership with the City of Naperville to allow first-responders to self-quarantine in Geiger Hall, it wasn’t the first time the College offered its facilities in support of our nation’s heroes.

“Our history shows us that when called to action, the College responds,” said President Troy Hammond.

During the 1918 flu pandemic, which struck during World War I, the College responded by transforming a darkroom in Goldspohn Hall into a hospital space with calcimined walls to care for the “the boys of the Student Army Training Corps.”

A March 1919 issue of the College Chronicle describes a memorial service for students who died of the flu while in military service. Non-military students were also afflicted.

“The College’s personals columns at the time identified students suffering from the flu,” noted Ann Keating, Dr. C. Frederick Toenniges Professor of History. “In one case, a mother came to care for her sick student; in others, students went home. It also seems to have affected the football team, with several games played without key team members.”

During World War II, North Central was the site of an Army Specialized Training Program. Old Main’s Smith Hall became a classroom, and Merner Field House and two residence halls served as barracks from 1942 to 1944.

Student Army Training Corps

In the 2020 chapter of this history, Naperville police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians can reside in Geiger rooms that are well-suited for single occupancy. They will be apart from the few people who remain on campus, and all necessary measures will be taken to ensure that the building is safe for occupancy when it returns to College use.

“We are extremely grateful to North Central College for working with us to provide a safe and comfortable location for our City employees to self-isolate or self-quarantine if they have been exposed [to COVID-19],” said Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico. “This helps us protect our first responders and their families, to further prevent the spread of the virus and to continue providing essential emergency services to the community during this pandemic.”

remote instruction beginning March 18. All students studying abroad in Europe return to their home countries. • ITS provides 45 laptops for faculty and staff and purchases additional webcams and headsets/microphones to facilitate remote needs; classes are moved online to Blackboard (see p. 4) • The NCAA cancels all remaining winter and spring championships, cutting short what was shaping up to be one of the best years for athletics in Cardinal history. (See p. 22 for more on athletics.)

MARCH 13 The office of admission extends the Early Deposit Incentive from March 15 to June 1.

MARCH 16 Illinois Governor Pritzker announces the closing of all K-12 schools and asks organizations to allow people to work from home, prompting additional changes to campus operations. The College asks students to move out of residence halls no later than March 18 and offers oncampus housing for students requiring exceptions. Dining service continues in Kaufman Dining Hall.

MARCH 18 Remote instruction and learning begin, with 1,352 students attending classes synchronously (at the same time). • The operations team prepares New

Hall to house students who are unable to move off campus. Other residence halls are readied to house City of Naperville first responders. (See sidebar)

MARCH 27 The Academic Programs and Policies Committee, with the overwhelming support of faculty who participated in a remote meeting, endorses giving students the option of a Pass/No Pass grade for spring semester.

MARCH 30 President Hammond and the Cabinet agree on a video-based Commencement ceremony to ensure that the College can celebrate the Class of 2020 on May 3.

INSPIRED INSTRUCTION during remote learning

Global studies students participated in robust discussions about international issues as they relate to a global pandemic.

A virtual exhibit showcased the artistic talents of senior art majors.

FACULTY EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE In the course of a few days the College’s entire academic class schedule—900 sections—was readied for remote instruction.

In addition, more than 130 faculty and staff needed training to transition their teaching to a platform called Blackboard Collaborate, the College’s tool for virtual classroom learning and web conferencing. “The effort was inspiring, as we rapidly moved to emergency remote instruction,” said Jennifer Keys, assistant provost for teaching and learning and director of CAFÉ. “Faculty demonstrated an innovative and collaborative spirit by embracing new forms of educational technology—with the help of Information Technology Services. They also fostered the meaningful connections we have with our students.”

Assisting with the transition were CAFÉ instructional designers Staylor AnamuahMensah and Scott Sandifur. “An essential part of our process was addressing faculty questions and concerns through virtual workshops and one-on-one consultations,” said Anamuah-Mensah.

Their challenges included showing faculty “how to replicate some if not all of their face-to-face activities with online activities,” he said. “And we worked with ITS to ensure faculty had equipment like web cameras for class meetings. We quickly developed tutorials and other resources for guidance.”

LOOKING FOR SILVER LININGS Faculty quickly adapted their curricula for remote settings. For some science courses, computer research replaced labs, such as explorations related to the pandemic. Biology 201 students led by Jonathan Visick, professor of biology, used bioinformatics to research the SARS-COV-2 virus, Students in the Infectious Disease course taught by Greg Ruthig, associate professor of biology, modeled historic epidemics.

Chemistry professors made videos of lab assignments. “Students collected the data for graphs and other formats,” said Paul Brandt, professor of chemistry. “The lab instructors could answer students’ questions during lab hours on Blackboard Collaborate.”

In the art and design department, “we adapted the assignments so students can work on projects at home (like sculpture for their yards/homes) though they might not be using the same materials as in the studio,” said Christine Rabenold, associate professor of art and design. She added that senior art majors held a virtual art exhibit in place of an annual gallery event on campus.

Bill Muck, professor of political science, said that his Global Studies capstone seminar “has gotten better since we’ve gone online,” with students participating from a variety of states and Japan. “I am able to share my presentation remotely with the students and we have class very much like we do in the classroom.”

“This seminar class is a great one to be paired up with a global pandemic because we’ve analyzed and reflected on the nature of power and travel patterns throughout the world,” said global studies and political science major Ella Omi ’21. “But I miss physically being in the presence of those who think the way I do.”

And faculty miss their students, too, like Carly Drake, assistant professor of marketing. “I started hosting little online parties and a career Q&A session to get my students connected to each other,” she said.

CONNECTIONS ARE KEY Faculty were also challenged to respond to the changing financial needs of their students away from campus. Tammy Wynard, associate professor of

Chemistry lab experiments were replicated for videos that students viewed and analyzed.

health science, applied her expertise to understanding how to address students’ ability to learn in less than ideal circumstances.

“We have students whose capacity to learn has changed because they’re in survival mode,” she said. “They may have lost their jobs or they have to work more to help support their families—it's hard for them to thrive academically. Some needed laptops and access to the Internet.” She said she was glad faculty advocated for a pass/no pass grading system for this semester.

Wynard explained that research into student learning shows that when faculty see students struggling, it’s important to build on established relationships. “Connecting with students has been critical.”

Wynard is team-teaching the course Human Sexuality with John Zenchak, professor of biology, and they’ve asked for input from students about how they wanted content delivered. “We asked our students to have patience with us, to have forgiveness,” she said. “But this is still a college-level course and we expected them to participate like any course. Pivoting and flexibility—it works both ways, for them and for us.”

ONE LAST SUPPER IN MILAN Warner Hellyer ’21, majoring in small business management and entrepreneurship, spent one month in Milan, Italy, before returning home on March 2. She had always dreamed of going to Italy and was also planning on visiting Scotland, Budapest and Greece.

“At the end of the third week, we got word (via the U.S. Embassy in Rome) of an outbreak of 14 confirmed cases in a city south of Milan. By the following Sunday, our first week of semester courses was cancelled and we were shocked. We started hearing of other universities pulling their students back home.

“I left for Switzerland for the weekend. An email sent on that Saturday night said that North Central was ‘highly recommending’ students come home. On Sunday, I took a six-hour bus ride back to Milan, bought my plane ticket for 6:20 a.m. the following morning, and went out to enjoy a ‘Last Supper’ in Milan (pun intended). I was in Chicago by Monday afternoon.”

AN INTERMISSION FOR HER CAREER PLANS Miranda Keating ’20, a musical theatre and theatre major, put her career plans on hold.

“I had a teaching job lined up for the summer at the Dream Big Performing Arts Workshop. However, that experience has been frozen for the time being. As for the Disney College Program I have not been told anything concerning my program, which would be starting in late August (I will be a performing character). By then, they may need me to work. However, it is all up in the air at this point. All the Disney Parks are closed.”

ENACTUS GOES VIRTUAL Justin Simbol ’20, economics and finance major, prepares for online competition.

“This year the Enactus National Expo will be held online and without in-person audiences. Planning our presentation hasn’t been easy because of the countless Zoom meetings, the files needed to be shared and the lack of in-person collaboration. We will need to do a 12-minute presentation, project report and annual report. We will also be doing voiceovers for the presentation, which have to be submitted by the end of April.”

LEARNING AND LIVING REMOTELY Jack Plewa ’21, biology major, explains the good parts and the missing pieces.

“There are many positives to meeting online. I can go through lecture videos and take notes at my own pace. This is much less stressful than scribbling notes as fast as I can during class. But there are lots of things that I miss: walking down the hallways in the Wentz Science Center and talking to professors and friends along the way; eating lunch and dinner with my friends; having in-class discussions; and being an on-campus student journalist. I miss the hustle and bustle of the newsroom.”

SPRING 2020: ATHLETICS DISSOLVE FROM DREAMS TO HARSH REALITIES

A week, a season and an academic year to remember were called to a halt with stunning finality at 3:17 p.m. on March 12 when the NCAA made the unprecedented announcement that it would cancel all remaining winter and spring championships in response to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

The North Central athletic department, which had prepared for multiple championship events several times in response to changing news and announcements as the scale of the pandemic grew, shifted its focus to the next academic year and is embracing new strategies to communicate with teams and engage with prospective studentathletes.

After hosting first- and second-round games in the Division III Men’s Basketball Championship, the College had been preparing to play Washington University in St. Louis in the tournament’s round of 16 while also sending student-athletes to the Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships and Wrestling Championships.

“Everyone was getting ready to go on that Monday (March 9),” said athletic director Jim Miller ’86. “We had our normal preparations with site representatives and visiting teams. It was business as usual.” disinfecting protocols to minimize risk to spectators and team and institutional representatives. The following day, the NCAA announced that championship events were to be conducted with only essential staff and a limited number of family members in attendance.

“We were supposed to receive forms to list the spectators who would be allowed to come to the game, and we never got it, so we had an inkling that another announcement was coming,” Miller said. “Our team went through its normal practice on Thursday, and then WashU arrived and we got everything they needed to start their practice at 3 p.m.

“Then at 3:17 the announcement came, and literally 10 minutes later WashU went to their bus to drive back to St. Louis after traveling more than five hours to get here. And the season’s over. It was devastating for everybody.”

At the same time, the track and field and wrestling championship events were halted as teams received the news from site representatives.

“We were less than 16 hours from weighins when we found out,” said head men’s and women’s wrestling coach Joe Norton ‘10/M ’12, whose team had qualified a program-record five individuals for the men’s championship. “Telling our guys the news was the hardest thing I’ve had to do as a head coach. Understandably, they did not take it well. “I have told each of them that they can use this to affect them positively moving forward. They’ll have such a unique perspective on what we tell our athletes all the time—tomorrow is not guaranteed.”

With little option but to prepare for the 2020-2021 academic year, many coaches have turned to online video conferencing and other virtual means to provide support to current student-athletes and persist with recruitment. “They’re communicating and engaging with recruits in ways that we’ve never been able to before,” Miller said. “So far, the results have been really encouraging.”

The NCAA’s announcement–followed a day later by the CCIW Council of Presidents canceling all remaining conference events for the academic year—put the brakes on a promising spring season. The baseball team was ranked in the top 10 nationally in two Division III polls and had opened the season with seven straight wins. Early results for softball (a 7-1 record), women’s lacrosse (5-0) and men’s lacrosse (4-1) gave cause for excitement as well.

“We were looking at possibly the absolute most successful athletic year in the school’s history,” Miller said. “There’s no question. To have everything shut down for everyone is disappointing, but we’re all grown ups and we understand that people are dying and that is more important. It gives you a little perspective on what you have. There’s a lot of life lessons to be learned through athletics…and we had no choice.”

CONNOR RARIDON ’20

MARC FLEENOR ’20

AMANDA MARTINEZ ’21

Winter and spring athletes deserve accolades, acknowledgements, awards, applause

Following a 2019 fall season that included national championship victories in women’s triathlon and football as well as a runner-up finish in men’s cross country, the North Central College athletic department enjoyed a winter campaign that saw an array of conference, regional and national accolades from several programs.

The Cardinals won College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) team championships in men’s basketball (the program’s first regular-season title since 2012) and men’s and women’s indoor track and field. The track and field programs combined to achieve a total of 10 individual conference championships, while the men’s wrestling team claimed five individual CCIW crowns.

The men’s basketball program hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship for the second consecutive year, defeating Adrian College (Michigan), 69-54, and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 84-82 in overtime, to advance to the tournament’s round of 16 for the third time. Connor Raridon ’20 received All-America honors from D3hoops.com and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), becoming the first player in the program’s history to earn All-America awards in two straight seasons.

North Central qualified a record five entrants in the Division III Men’s Wrestling Championship, and all five qualifiers–Cody Baldridge ’22, Marc Fleenor ’20, Ian Mullen ’20, Robbie Precin ’23 and Anthony Rink ’20—were awarded All-America honors by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

In its first season of competition, the Cardinals’ women’s wrestling team traveled to Adrian College for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling (NCWW) Championships, placing sixth in a 19-team field. Angelina Kirkpatrick ’23, Yelena Makoyed ’23, Amanda Martinez ’21, Asia Nguyen-Smith ’23 and Malea Palahniuk ’23 achieved All-America status at the championship.

The men’s track and field program qualified nine entries for the Division III Indoor Championship. Michael Stanley ’21, Maceo Findlay ’20, Gavin Cernek ’20 and Erik Musgrave ’20 made the field in the 4-by400-meter relay and Stanley also teamed with Nick Licari ’21, Brendon Sebastian ’21 and Gabe Pommier ’21 to qualify in the distance medley relay. Stanley also qualified individually in the 400-meter dash, as did Sebastian in the mile run and Nick Janca ’21 in the high jump, while Licari and Pommier were joined by Braden Nicholson ’23 and Matt Osmulski ’20 in the field for the 5,000-meter run.

The women’s track and field program achieved six qualifying marks for the indoor championship, including Katie Bonney ’21 (400-meter dash), Alexandra Draves ’22 (20-pound weight throw), Taiah Gallisath ’20 (high jump), Milia Harris ’20 (60-meter hurdles), Kelsey McLaurin ’21 (triple jump) and Kathy Myrda ’21 (pole vault).