By Rebecca Li, Staff Writer
The Bryn Mawr COVID Operations Planning Group is welcoming faculty to join. Dean Jennifer Walters, a current member, calls the group as “a practical application in real time of a changing circumstance with changing standards, a changing virus, and with a changing population.” When describing the group’s process, she says, “we’re each bringing from our areas our own expertise and our reading of the literature in our areas and then we bring that together.”
As an example of this principle, Dean Walters highlights Medical Director Beth Kotarski as the Group’s primary medical expert. Dean Walters emphasizes Director Kotarski’s comprehensive experience with the Tri-Co, having been active with Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore, and college health but acknowledges that it is not equivalent to a background in public health.
To faculty who are interested in providing a fresh perspective to the Group, Dean Walters says:
“A faculty member wishing to serve on the Operations Group may contact President Cassidy who convenes the group. The group now meets at least twice a month for an hour. The group is highly collegial and collaborative. We bring our experience, expertise, and knowledge of the College (and now having done this work together for more than two years, also about the pandemic to some extent, though this is always changing) as we develop operational practices and consider any changes to the mitigation plan. Each person’s contribution is equally considered, however, a person’s expertise in a certain area matters.”
Faculty were previously invited to join in response to faculty observing their lack of representation in the Operations Group. Dean Walters says that the position was offered during the summer and fall through emails and faculty meetings but no one volunteered.
One faculty source was not aware that this invitation had ever been extended, as they were often unable to attend the full duration of faculty meetings due to teaching commitments.
Another faculty source says that they felt disquieted that the Group asked for faculty volunteers instead of asking the Chair of Faculty to nominate representatives, as is the protocol for all other committees positions. They expressed that faculty should not be blamed for not volunteering, proposing instead that the unconventional recruitment tactic is what led to a continued lack of faculty representation.
When asked about past and current input from faculty, staff and students, Dean Walters said: “Bryn Mawr isn’t a place that’s really afraid to tell you when they have thoughts about what’s going on, and so we do get a lot of feedback. It’s just that the decisions are not really made by everybody. The Operations Group is doing that.”
And within the Operations Group, President Kim Cassidy is the ultimate decision maker. “Everything has to sit right with [her] in terms of her own sense of whether this is good for the College,” says Dean Walters.
The Operations Group currently consists of President Cassidy, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer Kari Fazio, Associate Dean of Health and Wellness Reggie Jones, Medical Services Director Beth Kotarski, Director of Residential Life Angie Sheets, and Dean Walters of the Undergraduate College.
Don Abramowitz was previously in the group as the COVID-19 Officer and Environmental Health and Safety Officer but retired on October 1 2021. His role on the board has not been filled. His contact information remains on the Operations Group website, but according to a recorded message, CFO Fazio is the current contact for “COVID questions, including contact tracing, mask and policy questions.”
Image credit: Unsplash
