A word from the President

On Piedmont's personality and perseverance

Each spring, Piedmont hosts a disaster drill. The exercise was originally developed to help train nursing students but has evolved into an event that includes students from each of the college’s four schools. Theatre students, for example, use the mock drill to hone their skill as actors by playing the role of victims. And our mass communications students create a real-life press response covering the disaster.

The annual exercise also involves city, county, and state first responders and law enforcement officers. Last year, the emergency was a fire at the Swanson Center. In recent memory, Piedmont has also game-planned for a bombing and a tornado.

Ironically, this year’s drill, a mass shooting, was cancelled due to a real-life disaster: COVID-19.

And no amount of training or drilling could have prepared us for the weeks ahead. Like everyone else, the college’s administration, faculty, and staff were bewildered by the dizzying speed of unfolding events. In just a few weeks we moved from cancelling some study away trips to closing campus.

There are many quotes about crises. One of my favorites is by Denis Leary, an actor and writer. He writes: “Crisis does not create character it reveals it.”

On our website and in our publications are messages that speak to Piedmont’s personal nature and our passionate commitment to students. That personality and character were revealed in many remarkable

ways during March and April. In just one week, our faculty completely reimagined their courses for remote learning and launched them successfully. Our information technology folks worked feverishly to implement systems for online learning. Piedmont’s student services staff put in incredibly long hours helping student residents to safely relocate their belongings and address other concerns.

Everyone in every department had some role to play. Of course, Piedmont was not alone. Many other institutions were grappling with similar issues. But we were doing it in our unique way.

Like some colleges and universities, Piedmont hosts an event each year to celebrate the academic work of our students. This year, we planned for a day-long celebration that would have included poster presentations, musical performances, and student-led lectures.

When campuses began shuttering in March, many colleges and universities that had planned research days simply shelved them. Our faculty took a different approach. In just a few short weeks they developed an interactive website to host the event and rallied together remotely to make it work. Nearly 140 students participated in the live event on April 15.

Another example is Chris Kelly, a professor and Chair of Piedmont’s Art Department. He found a way to use the college’s 3-D printers to manufacture face shields for first responders. To date, we have donated more than 500 homemade shields to the Habersham Emergency Management Agency.

The Piedmont College family has revealed itself to be resilient, creative, kind, and committed to ensuring our students have every opportunity to advance toward their degrees, despite the current circumstances. As we look to the future with optimism and plan to welcome students back to campus this fall, these past few months serve as a reminder that sometimes it takes the worst thing to happen to bring out the best in all of us.

James F. Mellichamp, President