On April 16, the Mount Holyoke College administration hosted a virtual town hall meeting for students, focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on the College and the broader campus community. Students who signed up to attend the virtual meeting were able to submit questions beforehand as well as during the meeting.
Pioneer Valley sees Massachusetts’ largest fatal outbreak of COVID-19 yet
College loses $7.6 million in COVID-19 pandemic response
Australia and Singapore respond to COVID-19
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is taking a global toll, with now just a handful of countries around the world not reporting any confirmed cases. Originating in Wuhan, China in December 2019, it was not until early January that a case was first reported outside of China. By March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
Community Advisors fired due to COVID-19 raise concerns over employment contracts
On Wednesday, March 11, the day after Mount Holyoke announced its plans to close due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Office of Residential Life held a routine meeting with Senior Community Advisors (SCAs) and Community Advisors (CAs). But with the mood of the campus and uncertainty many students faced, it was anything but routine.
Payment complications strike controversy among student workers
Since Mount Holyoke officially closed its campus for the academic year, roughly 800 student employment positions have been lost. Of the over 400 student jobs that remain, most positions — including those in Admissions, Student Financial Services, Library Information and Technology Services (LITS) or academic departments — have begun operating remotely and with a limit of 4.5 hours per week.
New COVID-19 cases emerge in Mount Holyoke community
Mount Holyoke informed the College community of its first reported case presumed to be the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, on Wednesday, April 8. In a statement sent to the entire student body, Associate Vice President of Human Resources Heidi Friedman and Director of Health Services Karen Engell said that the College was alerted of a community member’s presumed positive test for COVID-19 on April 7. According to the email, the individual was not in contact with anyone when last on campus, nor were they experiencing symptoms at that time.
Board of Trustees announces tuition increase after annual retreat
According to an email sent to members of the College community on March 30 by President of the College Sonya Stephens, the Mount Holyoke College Board of Trustees met in New York from Feb. 27-29 for their annual retreat. The Board discussed tenure and retirement of professors, voted on the awarding of degrees on March 6, 2020 for 68 seniors and appointed new Trustees.
