Hi everyone, and welcome to the final UVA Weekly of the semester.
Over the last few months, we’ve used this show as a way to share the latest COVID updates
and give you a behind-the-scenes look at some of the incredible work being done by people
across Grounds to keep our community safe and help us deliver on our mission.
Today, we’re going to do something a little bit different.
At the end of a unique—and uniquely challenging—semester, I want to take a few minutes to thank some
of the people who, through their extraordinary effort, patience, and perseverance did what
many said couldn’t be done, and in the process helped show the world exactly what being a
great and good university looks like.
First, to our students—both those who came to Grounds and those who stayed home this
semester.
College is hard enough under normal circumstances let alone during a pandemic, but you took
the extra burden in stride.
Aside from a few unfortunate lapses, you did what you had to do to stay safe.
You looked out for one another.
You dealt with testing, isolation, and Zoom fatigue.
And on top of all that, many of you also managed to get involved in extracurricular activities,
serve the community, do research, and have some fun along the way.
Every generation has its defining challenge, and this pandemic will likely be yours.
But you rose to meet it again and again—which gives me enormous hope both for your future
and ours.
To our faculty and deans.
Who would have guessed that moving all your classes online in a week last spring was just
the beginning?
Nothing about this semester was easy—whether you were teaching in-person or online.
But I’ve been incredibly impressed not only by your resilience and creativity but by your
genuine concern for our students and their wellbeing.
Thank you for helping us continue to deliver on our teaching and research missions despite
all of the challenges of the semester—and for continuing to shed light on both enduring
questions and the new ones we’ve faced this year.
To our incredible staff.
Thank you to the front line workers who cleaned classrooms and residence halls, maintained
our HVAC systems, staffed dining halls, and installed signs and plexiglass barriers across
Grounds.
To Procurement for getting us the supplies we needed, including PPE, and the Emergency
Management team for helping coordinate our response.
To the care teams who made sure that even when our students were isolated, they never
felt alone.
And to the staff at Student Health, Employee Health, and the Student Activities Building
who helped us ramp up testing and provide treatment—including the team at the saliva
testing lab that hasn’t gotten a day off in months.
Thank you to the members of the Implementation Working Group, led by JJ Davis, our COO, and
Liz Magill, our Provost, which has met every day this semester to troubleshoot problems,
and thanks to the Contingency Planning Group, which prepared for every possible scenario.
To the mighty team in Student Affairs—including Pat Lampkin, who might actually get to retire
one of these days—thank you for going above and beyond for our students.
And thanks to the RAs, without whom none of this would have been possible.
Thank you to the Advancement staff who navigated both a pandemic and a tough economy to help
us continue to fund our priorities; the members of the Office of Engagement who found new
ways to connect; and the tech support teams across the University who kept everything
up and running.
Thanks to the people whose work lives were turned upside down by the pandemic—from
parking and transportation, to the library staff, to IM/Rec and everyone else who pitched
in where their specific skills and extra hands were needed.
And thanks to HR for identifying those needs and coordinating new assignments.
Thank you to the team members at the Health System—the epidemiologists, doctors, nurses,
lab techs, and staff—who helped us try to understand this virus and offer world-class
treatment to those fighting it.
And a special thanks to Dr. Mitch Rosner and Dr. Costi Sifri for their deep knowledge and
steady leadership, as well as the local health district for their partnership.
Thank you to the student-athletes, coaches, and staff in the Athletics Department who
kicked their already impressive discipline up a notch to keep themselves and their opponents
safe.
To the alumni who helped us expand testing, advance COVID-related research, and help students
who needed financial assistance.
To the members of the Board of Visitors who have been key partners and supported us through
some tough decisions.
To the parents and families who trusted us with their students at a difficult and uncertain
time.
To everyone who has shared their talents as part of Arts on the Hill; to the ambassadors
who have reminded us to wear masks and keep our distance; and to the students who worked
on the #YouVA campaign.
To the members of the Charlottesville community who had faith in us and held us accountable—as
well as everyone who has volunteered their time to help those in need, including by offering
community testing.
Thank you all.
Finally, a special thanks to the members of the video team who have recorded me every
week and done it safely.
And thanks to Zeno and Nia for being such excellent co-hosts.
If I have left anyone off, please accept my apology and know that I appreciate everything
you have done and will continue to do.
There really are too many people to thank—which is a reflection of the fact that this pandemic
has demanded more of all of us and that our success has only been possible because everyone,
everywhere did that part.
For that I will always be immensely grateful.
I hope all of you can take some time off over the holidays.
I don’t think any group of people has ever deserved a break more.
And I have no doubt that when we come back together in the new year, we will be ready
to face a new set of challenges—with confidence in each other; faith in our abilities; and
a commitment, as always, to do the best we can for this university that we love.
I’ll see you on the other side.
And now here’s Nia.
Hi Everyone, it’s Nia Augustine with your last installment of UVA Weekly for 2020.
I’m here with the #Youva team, where I can bring to you updates on COVID and news on
grounds.
We’ve started a bit early this week so that you can enjoy Lighting of the Lawn – virtually
– tonight.
More on that later.
As we finish off the last week of classes, I would like to pause and say thank you to
UVA students, faculty, staff, and workers.
You have all done a tremendous job by adhering to the numerous rules and regulations due
to the pandemic.
I hope that we can keep this energy and finish off on a high note.
So, everyone, please continue to wear your masks, and follow the socially distant small
gatherings of under 10 people.
As some students depart for home or leave Charlottesville, stay there until classes
begin next semester if you can.
Moving back and forth, whether living off or on grounds is highly advised against.
There will be testing required before returning to Grounds so rest with family over the holidays
while keeping an eye on the Return to Grounds Monitoring and Testing Site for instructions.
The longer Winter Break this year and later start to the spring semester, may have a financial
impact on students, especially those on financial aid who may be anticipating a refund at the
start of the semester.
To help overcome these obstacles, Student Financial Services will post an application
for Spring CARES Act funding in December so eligible students can request financial assistance
to support winter break or J-Term needs for food or other emergency incidentals.
All students who are enrolled in courses for the spring 2021 term, and who have successfully
completed a FAFSA for the 2020-2021 academic year, can request funding.
Those who are not eligible to complete a FAFSA may also fill out the application to be considered
for limited institutional funding.
The application and additional information will be available on the Student Financial
Services website in December.
You may also write to emergency funding at Virginia for more information.
UVA Mutual Aid is an innovative new resource for students too.
This is a new organization within the Student Council that formed in March in response to
COVID, and they offer modest grants to students experiencing any financial hardship due to
the pandemic with no strings attached.
Their goal is a more equitable UVA where all students have their fundamental needs met.
Since March, they have collected and distributed over $21,000 to students and the program is
open to any student, including those who are undocumented.
They currently have nearly $5,000 in outstanding requests from students.
If viewers would like to support Mutual Aid, please Venmo UVAMutualAid or utilize Paypal
or Zelle.
Check out their website for more information.
Now, as we all think about Thanksgiving Break, we wanted to leave you with some thoughts
from students and others around Grounds, about what they are thankful for, and what has made
a really tough year a little bit better.
Here’s what they had to say.
Yeah, I’m really excited for Thanksgiving.
I’m excited to see my family again and be home with them for a little bit.
Things are okay, it's been a little bit quiet on grounds as folks are starting to head home.
I think everyone’s trying to relax after a rough semester.
It’s been a long two months, especially because we're nursing students, so we really
haven't gotten a break yet.
We all need a break from school, so.
I'm excited to go home but also, I'm a little bit nervous about traveling.
I also think there’s a lot of anxiety around going home because we've been here for so
long and then going home to family it’s a little nervous.
I am a little sad about Thanksgiving this year because I can't be with my grandma or
my aunts and uncles which is a little disappointing.
I'm going to be spending Thanksgiving with my friends, my quarantine pod, and really
being grateful for the people I have here at my second home.
This is my dog, Penney, I’m watching her for a few days and I’m really grateful for
her.
I’m grateful that there's still a lot of stability in the world given the incredible
circumstances.
As a scientist, it’s a super rewarding time to be doing infectious disease research.
I'm just really happy with the news over the last week from Pfizer and Moderna that there's
a vaccine that’s more than 90% effective.
I’m grateful I haven't gotten sick yet, I haven’t caught the Corona, been dipping
and dodging.
I’m also really grateful that I'll be able to spend the holiday season with my family.
I’m really grateful for my parents, they’re all the way out in California so I've just
been calling them a lot this year and it's been really nice.
I think it's important to be grateful like, in general just like appreciate the small
things.
Given the vast majority of human history, we live in truly amazing times and I kind
of forget about that a lot recently.
Sometimes we don't recognize the things that we do have until we don't have them.
We often talk about gratitude in our nursing classes about how it will lead to better resiliency,
and how, you just live so much of your life not noticing the good, and when you are intentional
about that gratitude, you actually realize that life’s not that bad.
We have this chance to have this learning experience on Earth and like, everything around
us is something that we can take and you know, try to make our communities better try to
make ourselves better as people.
I don’t know, I try to hold onto that.
It’s easy to forget, sometimes.
The #Youva team, Zeno and I are grateful to play a role in informing the UVA community
and helping everyone get through a semester unlike any other.
Zeno also wants me to tell you “It’s all about the vibes man.”
And, no, I have no idea what he is talking about.
Make sure to check out the YOUva team on Instagram or email us at YOUva at virginia.edu with
questions, concerns, and good news.
And stay tuned for Lighting of the Lawn – celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
The show will be livestreamed at the link on your screen, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern
time.
It will also be available to watch later.
Some parting words by Dr. Maya Angelou: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget
that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
Thank you for listening.
This is Nia Augustine and see you all next year.