herself to be an outstanding scholar. She is a participant in The Learning Collaboratory, a three- to four-semester-long program offered through the Department of Public Health Sciences. The program allows Schmidt, and its other students, the opportunity to apply public health in the classroom and community. Most recently, Schmidt initiated a four-month research project that will study the effects of loneliness, social isolation, and substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigation is being led by Viviana Horigian, associate professor of public health sciences, and is one of 24 research projects to receive rapid response grants from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. “The MPH program has allowed me to build a strong public health skill set by facilitating relationships with community members, allowing me to pursue issues I find most crucial, and encouraging engagement and collaboration with faculty leaders,” Schmidt said. “I am excited to join the workforce and to help fortify an adaptive and resilient public health infrastructure.”
A PANDEMIC STRIKES, AND AN ACADEMIC COMMUNITY RESPONDS Written by Robert C. Jones Jr. Published on April 17, 2020 Category: COVID-19 Response The novel coronavirus made its mark at the University of Miami, and members of the institution pulled together as a team to safeguard its students and faculty and staff.
a ballpark where 19- and 20-year-olds wielded bats and gloves to bag four College World Series titles and were poised to make a run at a fifth, the cheers went silent.
From late summer to early winter, the cadence had always been regular and steady. But then, suddenly, the campus’s circadian rhythm was thrown out of kilter. Classrooms in every building sat empty. No students. No instructors. No group discussions. No experiments.
The COVID-19 pandemic that changed the world had turned the University of Miami almost into a ghost town, as school officials, like so many of their counterparts across the nation, made the painful but necessary decision to send students home for the rest of the academic term in an effort to halt the spread of the virus.
Walkways that connect a labyrinth of structures were devoid of foot traffic. Eateries in the massive food court were closed. And in
The University’s commencement exercises, academic rites of passage
for thousands of graduates, were postponed. Students studying abroad were called home. Athletic competitions and other events were either canceled or put on hold. And, employees no longer commuted to the office but worked from home. Still, the lectures, lessons, and learning continued—via Zoom, Skype, and on laptops and smartphones. The changes occurred quickly—seemingly in the blink of an eye. It was the vision of a farsighted university president with a generation’s worth of know-how in responding to pandemics and a task force to support him that made things happen.
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