Students will not be required to wear their masks in their resident hall rooms but will need to have them anytime they are out of their rooms. 

Proper masks will also be required. Proper masks include any mask that is double (or more) layered, surgical masks, or N95 masks. Masks that do not meet these requirements are: face shields when worn alone, gaiters, bandanas, or anything that is not double layered. 

As we continue to monitor the situation, we will update your policy as we see necessary. 

Thank you for your compliance in an effort to keep everyone on Ozarks campus healthy and safe. 

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Twenty ����vlog���� business students are putting their classroom knowledge and experience to work this semester on a cross-cultural project to help the food industry navigate the Covid pandemic.

The Ozarks students, who are in an upper level special studies elective in the Business Administration program, are collaborating with college students from the Thierry Marx College and Keyce Business Academy in Paris. Thierry Marx College is a culinary school and Keyce is a business college. Both are a part of the College de Paris system.

The theme for the six-week collaboration is “Innovation During the Pandemic in the Food Industry, Powered by ����vlog����, Thierry Marx College and Keyce Academy.”

Several teams made up of a mix of 4-5 students from Ozarks, Thierry Marx and Keyce are using technology to work together on the project. Business professors Dr. Christine Scott, dean of the Division of Social Sciences, and NaLisa Brown, instructor of business, are leading the project for Ozarks.

“Our students are engaged in small cross-cultural groups to develop an innovative project to address the struggles the food industry is facing during the pandemic,” Brown said. “The focus is on real-life application of course content, multicultural work and project management.”

The Ozarks faculty and staff were happy to take part in the opportunity to help an industry that has been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

“The food industry has seen economic declines and is one of the hardest hit parts of the economy,” Scott said. “For the industry to survive and adapt to ever-changing needs, these types of creative collaborations provide opportunities for innovation.”

The collaboration was initiated by Dr. Guillaume Finck, a vice president at the College de Paris who taught at Ozarks for one semester in 2017 as part of a faculty exchange partnership with another Paris university. Finck approached U of O President Richard Dunsworth with the idea and then worked with Nicole England, director of Student Life, to work out some of the details. England, a 2018 Ozarks graduate, had Finck for a class when he taught at Ozarks.

“The relationship that we had with Guillarmo definitely helped make this happen,” England said. “This type of collaboration can help bring out the creativity and strategic thinking of students on both sides. The groups are designed to combine the academic backgrounds and life experiences from both the Ozarks students and the French students to create innovative and practical business solutions.”

Faculty from Ozarks and the College de Paris will present online courses in brand strategy, marketing and innovation, project planning and applied finance. In addition, faculty will act as coaches to assist each participating team. On March 15, students will present their projects to a jury of faculty from both institutions as well as renowned Paris chef Thierry Marx.

“Students will be free to develop creative solutions in many different areas,” Brown said. “We want students to be creative. Since their students are more familiar with the food industry, their students will lead the way in regards to the challenges. Our business students will help find practical business solutions.”

Elodie Jabouin, a senior business administration major from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, was excited about the chance to work with students from other countries.

“I remember last semester when Dr. Scott and Mrs. Brown sent the email out about this class, I was so excited,” she said. “During a Zoom meeting with both professors, I remember telling them how happy I was about this collaboration between both institutions. As a trilingual, it is an opportunity to help my peers here at Ozarks get the chance to learn a little bit of French and share my culture with students and faculty from both institutions. In addition, I look forward to working with faculty and students from Paris College as this is a great opportunity to exchange culture, ideas and knowledge from our respective fields. It gives me a chance to learn, collaborate and adapt to students from diverse backgrounds.” 

Jabouin has also been able to put into use the principles and lessons she has learned in her business classes.

“Anyone who studies business administration and its branches know that we must constantly adapt, analyze and re-evaluate in order to stay unique and gain more competitive advantages,” Jabouin said. “Nowadays, with the pandemic, all business owners are looking for ideas to stay in business especially in the food industry. This class is a great opportunity to start thinking about ways that we will do business in the future by being more eco-friendly while also being efficient. It gives us a chance to prepare ourselves to face the issues that any business owner has been facing for the past year and that we may have to face in the future. This class invites us to think outside of the box, as a business owner.”

Luis Garcia, a senior business administration major from Clarksville, called it a “learning experience” to work with students from France.

“There are a couple of challenges we faced going into the project,” Garcia said. “The most difficult one is the time difference, since they are seven hours ahead of us. We’ve had to juggle schedules and times to make it work. There is also a language barrier, but fortunately we are paired up with an Ozarks student who speaks French and English.  The bottom line is that we’re excited about developing a strategy for restaurants to utilize during times of uncertainty, like now with the pandemic. This strategy can be used globally since we include information from Europe as well as in America.”

The students and faculty are using Microsoft Teams to collaborate, communicate and develop the project proposals.

“Microsoft Teams is a robust collaboration tool that allows team members to chat, schedule meetings, make video or audio calls, work on files simultaneously and create tasks, but the most important factor is the ability to translate language,” Brown said. “This project would not be possible without this type of technology.  Communicating domestically and internationally during this time relies on technology such as MS Teams.”

The members of the team that is declared the winner of the project competition will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the others’ home city, meaning a trip to Paris is on the line for Ozarks students.

“My team’s ultimate goal is to win the trip,” Garcia said. “We as a team feel confident as we work together to develop our strategy for this project. I would be thrilled to have an all expensed paid trip to visit Paris because it is in my bucket list to be able to visit the City of Love.”

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Alumni Featured in Covid Panel Discussion on Jan. 28

The ����vlog���� Office of Alumni Engagement will present a virtual panel discussion on the Covd-19 pandemic at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28.

The panel will include two U of O alumni — Dr. Cori Dyson ’97 and Dr. Ross Halsted ’05. The event, which is open to the public, will be held via Zoom.

Dyson is a licensed psychiatrist who is practicing in Jonesboro, Ark., and Halsted is a family physician in Harrison, Ark. The panel will also include Dyson’s spouse, Dr. Sarah Dyson, a social psychologist from Jonesboro..

The panel will discuss how Covid-19 has affected individuals from both a personal and professional point of view, as well as provide tips on the best ways to navigate the pandemic.

The Zoom link to the event is:

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����vlog���� officials have announced a revised Spring 2021 Semester calendar in which classes will begin on Tuesday, Jan. 26, and there will be no spring break.

The revised schedule extends the Christmas break one week by pushing the start of classes back a week.

There will be no spring break during the semester, but the University will observe Good Friday on April 2, making for a three-day Easter break for students, faculty and staff. The final day of classes will remain May 5 and finals are scheduled for May 7-12.

According to the new schedule, residential housing will open on Sunday, Jan 24, for students to move in for the spring semester.

“Our objective continues to be the well-being and safety of our students, faculty and staff while also maintaining our standard of excellence in all forms of academic instruction and activities,” said University President Richard Dunsworth. “As we looked at the spring calendar, it made sense to continue to do what we’ve done this fall and that’s keeping students on campus as much as possible throughout the semester to mitigate the risks involved with the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The spring commencement ceremony is still scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 15, in a traditional in-person format. However, University officials said that could change depending on the status of the pandemic in the spring.

Important Dates Spring 2021 Semester

• Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Holiday (offices open)
• Jan. 24: Spring housing opens for move-in
• Jan. 26: Classes begin
• Feb. 1: Last day to register
• Feb. 8: Last Day to Drop a class without a “W”
• March 19; Mid-Term (grades due)
• April 2: Good Friday Holiday (offices closed, no classes)
• April 6: Last day to withdraw from a class
• April 5-20: Student Self-Serve Registration
• Man 3-7: New Student Registration
• May 5: Last day of classes
• May 6: Study Day
• May 7-12: Final exams (spring housing closes on last exam day)
• May 14: Baccalaureate
• May 15:  Commencement

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����vlog���� has announced a revised academic calendar for the 2020 Fall Semester that will end face-to-face classes on Nov. 20.

The change is part of the University’s ongoing efforts to mitigate the risks involved with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ozarks will begin the Fall 2020 semester as scheduled, on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The last day of face-to-face classes will be on Nov. 20 and classes will transition to an all online format on Nov. 23. Final exams, scheduled for Dec. 7-10, will also be conducted in a virtual environment.

There will be no fall break at Ozarks and classes will be held on Labor Day, Sept. 7.

Move-in for new incoming students will be Aug. 19-21, and move-in for returning students will be held Aug. 22-24. The move-ins will be held on a staggered schedule to minimize crowds.

The University will hold with a combination of in-person classes, virtual classes and a hybrid of both throughout the semester.  In addition, all large in-person gatherings, meetings and events have been cancelled or converted to a virtual format for the fall semester, including Homecoming, the Walton Arts & Ideas Series, speaker events and theatre and concert performances.

“We are committed to the well-being and safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors while also committed to maintaining our standard of excellence in all forms of academic instruction and activities,” University President Richard Dunsworth said. “I’ve been extremely proud of how the Ozarks community of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends have helped lead the University through this challenging and difficult period in our history. The changes in this upcoming semester will not be easy to enact, but I am confident that the people we have on this campus are up to the task.”

Key dates for the 2020 Fall Semester:

• Faculty & Staff Opening Workshop: Aug. 19
• New student move-in: Aug. 19-21
• Orientation and Ozarks Experience: Aug. 19-23
• Returning student move-in: Aug. 22-24
• Classes begin: Aug. 25
• Labor Day, Sept. 7: Classes WILL BE in session/Offices open
• Last day of in-person classes: Nov. 20
• Classes resume 100 percent virtual: Nov. 23-24
• Thanksgiving Break (No classes, offices closed): Nov. 25-27
• Final day of classes: Dec. 4
• Final exams (virtual): Dec. 7-10
• Fall Commencement (To Be Determined)

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The task force charged with guiding the University through its reopening process continues to meet and provide guidelines for the University community as we prepare for the 2020 Fall Semester.

Here are some updates from the task force:

• Robson Library will be closed throughout the summer and will not be accessible until the start of the Fall Semester.
• Outdoor athletic spaces, including the tennis courts and intramural fields, remain closed to the general public and are open only to current on-campus residential students and employees who live on University property.
• The Rawhouser Fitness Center, Mabee Gymnasium and the strength and conditioning facility will remain closed until further notice.
• All on-campus events for the remainder of June are cancelled. The campus community should continue to schedule all events/meetings online throughout the month of June. If there is an on-campus event or meeting in July that you would like the task force to consider, please email Gloria Arcia at garcia@ozarks.edu.
• The baseball program’s youth summer baseball camp has been postponed to late July or early August.
• Faculty and staff who are working hybrid (both from home and on campus) over the summer must self-report their upcoming travel plans if they are going outside of the state of Arkansas. Upon their return, they will be required to wear PPE when they are on campus for a period of 14 days.
• Current on-campus residential students must self-report their upcoming travel plans if they plan to leave Johnson County and will be required to wear PPE for 14 days when they return to campus.

The task force is led by Gloria Arcia, vice president for finance and administration, and consists of Donny Frost, director of the physical plant; Jimmy Clark, athletic director; Caitlin Huckfeldt, director of residential life; Greg Stone, network technician; and Dr. Warren Sconiers, assistant professor of biology. The task force is making decisions with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Arkansas Department of Health.

If you have any questions regarding summer protocols or policies, please contact Arcia at garcia@ozarks.edu.

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����vlog���� is planning to hold in-person classes in the fall, President Richard Dunsworth said this week.

Dunsworth said the University will continue to monitor the Covid-19 pandemic crisis throughout the summer and will have contingency plans in place for the fall semester if they are needed.

“Our plan right now is to return to face-to-face education in the fall while also being prepared and ready to make adjustments as we go along,” Dunsworth said. “Our top priorities are ensuring the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff, while also delivering on our mission of providing the highest quality learning environment possible. While we’re not sure exactly what that will look like, we’re excited about the planning process of getting students back on campus in the fall.”

Dunsworth said the University’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) has been making recommendations over the past eight weeks to position the University to reopen the campus for the Fall 2020 Semester.

In the coming days, the University will convene a task force with the sole purpose of preparing for and managing the return of students in the fall, Dunsworth said.

The task force will be led by Gloria Arcia, vice president for finance and administration, and will consist of Donny Frost, interim director of the physical plant; Jimmy Clark, athletic director; Caitlin Huckfeldt, director of residential life; Greg Stone, network manager; and Dr. Warren Sconiers, assistant professor of biology. The task force will make decisions with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Arkansas Department of Health.

Contingency plans include the possibility of using non-traditional spaces to teach classes, variations on how to host student life and other on-campus events and flexibility in how critical missions might be accomplished. The University also plans to incorporate the State of Arkansas’ plans for screening and testing for students and employees.

Dunsworth also added that the University’s academic officials are procuring additional training and resources for the faculty over the summer to prepare for the possibility of more remote learning in the fall.

“We will structure classes and events in a manner that can be done safely,” Dunsworth said. “That might mean a mix of remote and in-person classes. The traditional settings for classes may change for the time being as we take the need for social distancing into account.”

Dunsworth said he has been impressed with the campus community’s response to the Covid-19 crisis. The University transitioned to all-online method of course delivery in mid-March.

“I have been extremely proud of how our Ozarks community of students, faculty and staff have led the University through the changes of this unprecedented semester,” he said. “It has been a spring like no other. We placed community health and safety and student success at the forefront by mobilizing remote education and physical distancing strategies quickly and efficiently. I want to thank our faculty, staff and students for continuing the tremendous legacy of grit, determination and faith that has helped this University thrive for 186 years.”

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Spring break extended one week and classes to move to remote instruction.

3.13.2020
The last few days and weeks have been unlike anything any of us have ever seen.  The fluidity of the situation and the pace at which the environment is changing is creating an ever growing sense of angst and worry.  I have asked myself and others countless times in the last few days what not only our mission, but our history calls us to do in order to prepare students to live life fully. Below you will see our current position.  It reflects a collective best thinking for today.  I believe, also, it is true to our Christian heritage.

Immediate Campus-Wide Changes

• Effective immediately, the ����vlog���� is suspending all classes. 
• Classes will resume after spring break on Monday, March 30 in an all online method of delivery and continue online for the rest of the semester. 
• The University is open. Housing, dining, library, academic support and other services for students who remain on campus will continue to be provided.

No faculty, staff, or student should come to campus if they have any symptoms of the COVID-19.  The most common symptoms include fever, cough, or respiratory symptoms. 

Students

Please consult with your family, friends, and mentors and decide whether it is best for you to continue your Ozarks coursework from home.  If you believe campus/Clarksville is the best place for you to continue the semester, we will do our very best to serve you.  The residence halls, houses, and apartments will remain open and there will be no break in food service from now until the end of the semester. 

If you believe the best course of action is for you to go home, please make plans to check out of your residence hall at your earliest convenience.  Residence Life is prepared to begin checking people out as early as tomorrow, Saturday, March 14.  If you would like to take some time to prepare, please know that we will work with you. Please check your email regularly for communication from the University, especially your faculty.

Student Athletes

All athletic activity including practices, strength and conditioning, and competitions have been suspended for the remainder of the semester.

Faculty

Thank you!  Thank you for leaning into these trying times.  There will be training opportunities throughout the week for you and your colleagues to collaborate on moving courses away from face-to-face delivery.  I hope over the next few days you review with your advisees their plan for the rest of the semester.  Many of them will be preparing to leave campus and may need to check-in with you regarding best means of communication or challenges for finishing special projects from a distance.  If you have challenges that prevent you from moving to an online environment taught from your homes, please work with your respective dean to find an appropriate solution.

Staff and Administration

If your work can be performed remotely, please work with your colleagues to make that a reality.  If your work requires you to be on campus, please continue to monitor your health and behavior to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

All Employees

If you have a personal situation that makes you vulnerable to the virus, please work with your supervisor to develop a plan to ensure your well-being and the well-being of those you love.  Knowing every situation is a little different, supervisors have been given broad authority to find solutions while demonstrating institutional values. 

Campus Events

All campus events intended to draw an audience are suspended.  This includes the Walton Arts & Ideas Series, Winter Formal, Ozarks Fest and University Theatre’s Pinocchio.

Travel

In order to protect the most vulnerable among us, we suspended all official and previously-authorized international travel.  Moving forward, all institutional travel is suspended.  If you believe your circumstances warrant an exception, please consult with your respective vice president, dean, or director.  Any member of the campus community who travels outside of the state is asked to self-report their travel plans.  Any travel could result in initiation of self-quarantine protocols.

Here are a few important things to keep in mind:

• While students have the option to leave campus and return home, we are asking that if they check out of the residence halls that they stay away from campus for the remainder of the semester. Students will be able to check out of their residence halls starting Saturday by contacting the Office of Student Affairs.

• Many of the University’s student services will remain operational, including Robson Library, the Jones Learning Center, Borck Cafeteria, Rawhouser Fitness Center and computer labs.

• No outside guests will be allowed on campus.

• More information regarding online instruction will be communicated in the next few days to students from Provost Gill as well as from their respective professors.

• Staff members should check with their supervisor to determine their work protocol during this period.

• The University’s custodial team continues the enhanced environmental cleaning practices that have already been implemented, including increased sanitizing of touch points. We encourage all members of our campus community to adhere to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19.

• A decision about the Commencement in May will be determined in the upcoming weeks.

I know there are still a lot of unanswered questions. We will continue to provide updates on the transition in the next few days. The University’s highest priority is the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff.  While there are currently no reported cases of COVID-19 at Ozarks or in Johnson County, we believe these measures are necessary to implement social distancing in the interest of public health.

Respectfully,

Rich

Richard L. Dunsworth, J.D. University President

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