Pictured above: Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock, shown at Get On Board Day in August 2018. In a virtual “check-in” with students on Thursday, Tadlock said the blueprint for how the fall semester will operate won’t be finalized until July. Martha Rhine | The Crow’s Nest
By Carrie Pinkard
For an audience of nine students, Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock held a virtual “check-in” on Thursday to discuss individual concerns and the future of USF amid the coronavirus pandemic.
His main message was a plea for flexibility from students, faculty and staff.
“We’ll need a lot of flexibility, in my opinion, until 2021. Get used to it,” he said.
The regional chancellor added that, as of now, the university is planning for everyone to come back for the fall semester, but life on campus won’t be exactly as it was before.
“There’s going to have to be distancing,” Tadlock said. “There’s going to have to be masks for people to use. It’s going to complicate things because if you have a class of 30 in a classroom designed for 30, it’s difficult to practice social distancing.”
University operations may spread into community areas to allow for more space, according to Tadlock. He mentioned that lectures could be held at Johns Hopkins All Children’s hospital, in the Fish and Wildlife building, and in the Poynter building. This would allow students to take in-person classes while maintaining their distance.
Providing ample space will also be a top priority for on-campus student housing. Tadlock said the university is looking into having only one student per dorm across the three residence halls.
“What we were worried about two months ago was not having enough students in fall planning to come live in the dorms,” Tadlock said. “Now, with distancing, it won’t take that many students to fill them up.
“Based on the current number of students who have applied for housing, we still have plenty of room to space people out.”
Social distancing will also be practiced in the dining hall, possibly through staggered eating times, according to Tadlock.
Tadlock said he was unsure if a pass/fail option would be extended to students in the summer or fall semesters. The deadline to apply for pass/fail for the spring semester is 11:59 p.m. on April 24.
The regional chancellor also spent part of the meeting giving students ideas on how they could spend their free time while away from campus.
One program he mentioned was “St. Pete Friends,” which pairs students with elderly people who are living in assisted living facilities and might be lonely. The pairs send letters, have video chats, or make traditional phone calls where they talk about their lives and cheer each other up.
He also suggested building up your resume with online certifications from the Department of Labor.
Tadlock said the time students are spending learning online could be a key in expanding their career options. He said companies are moving toward having more and more employees work from home, and it’s important that students know the technology.
“I think you as students are in an advantageous position, whether you like learning online or not,” he said. “There’s going to be companies looking for your skillset.”
