April 6 message from the Vice President and Dean

[Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension Weekly Bulletin]

Good afternoon, everyone.

Today begins our fourth week working from our homes. If you are like me, your children are frustrated dealing with schoolwork from home, and you are struggling to juggle commitments.

You may also be worrying about rumors circulating about university finances and what that will mean for your family. If you haven't heard it directly from President Robbins, Provost Folks, me, an Executive Council member, your unit head or your supervisor, then whatever you are hearing is rumor, speculation or extrapolation. Remember President Robbins' email of 4/2/2020, which said "protecting our workforce is our highest priority."

We are all hearing about some terrible impacts on our ALSVCE family: students who can't connect to learn; desperate financial situations; loved ones diagnosed with COVID-19; and people who cannot travel to be with family or friends who have suffered a loss. On Sunday U.S. Surgeon General Adams warned of "the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives." Please be especially aware that some people you interact with are having a terrible time -- and they won't have told you. I know of devastating mental health effects. Please look out for each other.

Many of you have shared stories that make me smile and laugh and sometimes cry at the same time. Dawn Gouge in our Department of Entomology has allowed me to share this one with you in honor of the healthcare battle about to be hard-won on our own medical campuses in Phoenix and Tucson.

My Mum is a maniac; also a wonderful, unstoppable, 84 year old nurse pulling extra shifts back in the UK. Yes 84 years of age. After being appropriately appalled and trying to nag her into submission my sister and I realize she is doing precisely what she wants and should be doing.

I am inspired by these stories -- of courage, humanitarianism, selflessness, inventiveness, contributions to people, innovation, and so much more. They motivate us all. Some of these stories have been told by the news media, though most haven't. I'd love to hear more, and others have told me they would too. So my team created Difference Makers<https://compass.arizona.edu/difference-makers> to share your stories and stories you know of others in our community. These stories will be shared on our websites for everyone. Because your time is limited, nominating a Difference Maker<https://compass.arizona.edu/difference-makers-nomination> is easy and fast, and it can be anonymous.

I want to finish with some really good news. Ann Skulas-Ray has been tracking and analyzing enormous amounts of coronavirus/COVID data and she has shown that from 5 days ago the growth in U.S. COVID-19 deaths has shifted from exponential to linear. Moreover, the slope is decreasing markedly by the day. This is, of course, thanks not only to our healthcare professionals, but to everyone breaking transmission. Now is not the time to stop. Now is the time to double down.

Be well, stay safe, stay connected, reach out.
Shane





Make our long haul shorter: keep healthy and keep people working-- lead by example to suppress SARS-CoV-2 transmission.



To decrease cortisol’s insidious health affects and avoid burn out, I’m back to regular email practices. Please use URGENT in the subject line of emails to me only if they actually are; when sending URGENT emails outside of our “normal hours” please text me to look at my email. Individual personnel SARS-CoV-2 INFECTION or overt COVID-19 is an IMMEDIATE PERSONNEL WELLBEING issue and must be marked URGENT, just like any other individual personnel wellbeing issues should continue to be.

Please use “Time sensitive” in the subject line of emails when appropriate but DO NOT text me.



Shane C. Burgess
Vice President for Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Forbes Building, Room 306 | 1140 E. South Campus Drive
P.O. Box 210036 | Tucson, AZ 85721-0036
Office: 520-621-7621
sburgess at cals.arizona.edu<mailto:sburgess at cals.arizona.edu>
alvsce.arizona.edu<https://alvsce.arizona.edu/>
cals.arizona.edu<https://cals.arizona.edu/>
twitter<https://twitter.com/UAAgLifeVetExt>


The University of Arizona is located statewide on the ancestral homelands of indigenous peoples.
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