Politico: Small Liberal Arts Colleges Charting Path Forward Through Pandemic
September 29, 2020
- Author
- Jay Pfeifer
Carol Quillen and Davidson are featured in a recent Politico story that makes the case that liberal arts colleges are showing how higher ed can move forward through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The keys, according to the story, are “A combination of low infection rates in communities that surround schools and multimillion-dollar pandemic management strategies.”
Davidson is fortunate to have both. Every student is tested on a weekly basis and that, in combination with social distancing, ubiquitous masks and a host of other policy tweaks, has resulted—so far—in low infection rates on campus. The results of the testing are publicly available on the COVID-19 dashboard.
However, it’s important to remember Davidson is only six weeks into a 13-week semester.
“I don't take anything for granted,” Quillen said. “We think we have a system that will let us contain outbreaks, but we are really humble about it and ready to make changes if we need to.”
Quillen thinks that the lessons learned at Davidson—and at other peer institutions—will offer lessons for other campuses and for the broader community in general.
“I think we’re learning how to build community in new ways that I think will translate into how we do that post-pandemic and how we can sustain some semblance of normal life, even if we can’t come together as we used to,” she said.
