Trusteeship - May/June 2020 - 46

VIEW FROM THE BOARD CHAIR

Adaptability Fosters Resilience

O

BY CLAUDIA PUIG
UR WORLD IS FACING TOUGH
TIMES , now and for the fore-

seeable future. The global coronavirus pandemic has turned
our realities upside down, pushing us-at a
moment's notice-to adapt to new routines
in our personal and professional lives. This
is truly an unprecedented experience for
all of us, and one that is challenging us to
think and operate in creative, flexible, and
unconventional ways.
As a leader in both the communications
field and in higher education-I am president and General Manager of Univision
Communications Miami and I chair the
Board of Trustees of Florida International
University-I'm focused on making and
enabling decisions in this uncertain time.
And believe me, this public health crisis has
required us to be nimble and innovative
to continue delivering on our mission and
promise of value while protecting our staff.
At Univision, the leading media company serving Hispanic America, we've had
to adapt to a new normal of employees
working from home and anchors delivering news in nontraditional ways to ensure
they are kept out of harm's way. We've had
to evolve and adapt to this new "normal"
while still delivering high quality content
that informs, empowers, and keeps our
audiences safe.
It's been quite the challenge-a daunting
task at times-but we're pushing through
as everyone is during this time of turmoil.
Thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of
our teams, we have found solutions and
new ways of getting things done that will
serve us well after this crisis is over, which
is a silver lining to these difficult times.
At FIU, it's a similar story. We are one
of the nation's largest universities located
in an international gateway, a top-tiered
research institution currently serving
46 TRUSTEESHIP  MAY. JUN. 2020

58,000 students from around the world and
employing close to 10,000 faculty and staff.
For that reason alone, I believe FIU's proactive response during this trying time has set
the tone for other academic and research
enterprise institutions looking to create a
new normal amid the chaos.
Our President Mark B. Rosenberg was
very clear with his team from the onset
regarding the top priorities: The safety of the
university community, the preservation of
the academic and research enterprise, and
assistance to the local and global community.
Our first step at FIU was to create our
FIU coronavirus website, with up-to-date
information about coronavirus, university
operations, frequently asked questions, tips
on how to remain healthy, and more. Our
team's strategy has been simple: communicate, communicate, communicate.
As a university, academic continuity for
our students is top of mind. In fact, we took
the lead in transitioning more than 4,000
face-to-face courses to remote learning days
before the state university system made it
mandatory for all state institutions. News
updates and consultation with our own public health experts motivated us to decide early
on that a remote learning plan was necessary.
These changes to academic instruction
meant that our faculty and students needed
additional support, especially those individuals who haven't dabbled much in remote
learning. For them, we created the FIU
COVID-19 Academic Continuity Planning
website, with course conversion strategies,
training, and remote proctoring tips for
professors and video-conferencing and
course access resources for students.
Just when we were getting the hang of
remote learning, coronavirus threw us yet
another curveball-taking our university
operations to a remote environment. FIU is
currently operational thanks to the tireless

work of our employees, who are hunkered
down at home utilizing video-conferencing
and other online tools to keep things moving. It's been challenging at times-especially
for folks like me who thrive in face-to-face
contact-but being nimble and flexible is the
only way to get things done these days.
While technical and operational flexibility has kept FIU going, we've had to employ
much creativity and ingenuity to ensure every
member of our university family is happy,
healthy, and productive during this pandemic,
while taking care of their own families.
For our students, we've ensured they
are equipped with the tools needed for a
successful online academic journey. For
example, for Fostering Panther Pride-our
program for homeless or former foster care
students-FIU purchased 200 laptops to
ensure students in the program have a successful remote academic experience.
And for our overall university community, we've truly focused on mental and
emotional well-being, given that working
at home-often in isolation-can disrupt an
individual's mood and ability to perform.
Many of our colleges and units have
taken their creativity and ingenuity to new
levels, offering workouts online, mindfulness meditations, and even chats with local
officials looking to engage their community
in this time of social distancing. And with
commencement season on the horizon,
there's a dedicated team committed to providing our students a memorable graduation
experience, even when an in-person ceremony seems out of reach at the moment.
And just this weekend, FIU delivered to
Baptist Health South Florida the first batch
of 1,000 3-D printed reusable face shields-
personal protective equipment so desperately needed by hospital workers caring for
coronavirus patients. These masks were
Continued on page 47
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