It will be a whole new world for West Virginia University students when they return to classes Aug. 19 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But if safety protocols are followed, then there is no reason that they can’t have an active life on campus, President Gordon Gee said.
“We’re going to make wearing a mask cool,” Gee told The Dominion Post during a recent interview. “You can personalize it.”
WVU, Gee said, is one of the few universities in the country that will require students to be tested for COVID-19 before returning to classrooms. He said he has also talked with student leaders about encouraging their fellow classmates to wear masks and practice social distancing.
“Eighteen-year-old college students are not going to listen to a 76-year-old college president,” he said.
Since the novel coronavirus first struck WVU’s main campus in Morgantown in mid-March Gee — on the advice of health care professionals — has spent much of his time at Blaney House, his official residence. But, he has been busy and kept in touch with university officials and the state through Zoom meetings.
“It’s been efficient, but Zoom fatigue has been prevalent,” he said.
Besides running the state’s land grant university on while lockdown, Gee and other WVU administrators have been dealing with recent calls by Black students, faculty, staff and community leaders for a more inclusive university. The request to the university came in the form of a petition last week — signed by hundreds — and included nine separate changes they wanted to see made including anti-racism education and recruitment strategies for students of color.
“The petition was written in good grace,” said Gee, adding those concerns are in the process of being addressed. “I welcome people expressing their concerns.”
The WVU Center for Black Culture and Research plans to co-chair a working group to study what can be done. In addition, Meesha Poore, vice president of WVU’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, will chair another to see how the requests can be met.
“Everything is constantly changing and Meesha Poore is doing a good job,” Gee said. “I am going to continue to support her efforts and make sure people understand. We’re not going to engage in self-segregation. Everyone has a place and is valued.”
Gee reiterated there will be a football season in 2020, albeit how it will play out is still being discussed — including the possibility of filling the Milan Puskar Stadium to 50% capacity so people can social distance. People at the games, however, will have to wear masks, he said.
“People have to remember this virus is not going to disappear,” he said.
Gee said he will likely be doing much of his work at Blaney House when the fall semester starts, though he expects to be around campus some too.
“I am ready to rumble,” he said.
During his time in isolation, Gee said his daughter Rebekah, a physician in Louisiana, came to visit.
“She took a COVID test before she came and one afterwards,” said Gee, who is also planning on visiting his family and his grandchildren at the Greenbrier at the end of next month.
Gee said his time in isolation also gave him a chance to reflect on his
40-year career as a university president and WVU’s leadership role during the pandemic, particularly the work by Clay Marsh, WVU’s vice president and executive dean for health sciences. It was Marsh who served as the state’s coronavirus czar.
Gee also praised the Work of Ali Rezai, executive chairman of WVU’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. It was Rezai and his team who developed the technology to diagnose COVID three days before symptoms surface.
“This university has taken a major leadership role in the state,”
he said.
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