We Will Get Through This Together

A message sent to KGI faculty and staff on Saturday, March 21, 2020.

Dear KGI Colleagues,

I write at a time of deep uncertainty as we confront this unprecedented challenge to our health and well-being. We are required to stay in our houses, keep our children away from school, stay away from elderly loved ones, and shop only for food and essential supplies. At the same time, we need to work to change in a profound way how we operate and deliver our curricula at KGI.

I could not be prouder seeing how you have all worked together to make it happen!

As we have tried to find our way through these unchartered waters, we have been fortunate to work with a team of professionals from The Claremont Colleges, the CDC, the California Department of Health, the LA County Department of Health, and other experts who have advised us regarding our specific situation. At every turn, we have sought to protect the safety and well-being of faculty, staff, and students. The Claremont Colleges COVID-19 Response Team meets every morning to review what each school is doing and to review the latest information and recommendations from reliable agencies and resources. Our internal task force, chaired by Kelly Esperias (who sits as our representative on the 7C response team), meets every Monday and as needed after government announcements. The President's Council also meets as needed and has a daily briefing scheduled. That group – through Kelly – is empowered to provide all of KGI up-to-date and accurate information as a single reliable source.

We will do all we can to provide you with informative, fact-based, and actionable information. We will send emails only when are changes or significant or different action needs to be taken. Of course, we will update you on developments as they occur. But I will try not to clutter your inboxes unless there is a significant situation that needs the attention of all of us.

Let me take a moment to provide a bit of perspective. We face a challenge without precedent in my lifetime. While it is too early to understand the impact it will have on our lives and our society in the long term, it isn’t far-fetched to compare it to the challenge faced by our nation in 1941 at the beginning of the second world war. At that time, the enemy was made up of hostile foreign countries; today it is an invisible but equally formidable enemy that can and will change – for a very long time – what we do, and how we perceive the common good. My understanding is that what got us through that time was the feeling that everyone had a role: everyone’s work and sacrifice mattered.

We at KGI have already been helping. Our SPHS faculty and our PharmD alumni are currently in hospitals and healthcare facilities, serving patients and putting themselves in possible danger.

In the future our students, working with our faculty, will serve those in need and invent solutions that can keep us safer and healthy. I know we are dedicated to service, to our communities, and it shows in everything we do. We are one part of a state and national effort to defeat this pandemic and prevent future ones.

Let me make one thing very clear. Viruses do not discriminate, They do not seek out specific populations, ethnicities, or racial backgrounds. Fear of the coronavirus and misinformation have already provoked racist attacks against people of Chinese or Asian descent in our country. This is wrong and will not be tolerated at KGI. A core value of our community is that we consistently seek to maintain a culture of inclusion inside and outside of the workplace.

We are all going through a difficult time, but please know you are not alone. Reach out if you have any issues, personal or professional – we are a community that takes care of each other!

The KGI Task Force will continually update you, and I will write as conditions change and evolve.

We will get through this together!

Take care of your families and yourselves, and let’s show what dedicated teams and a strong community can accomplish!

Best to all,

Shelly