I am thinking of you all as social distancing becomes a necessary yet regrettable new norm. On campus, the faculty continue to focus on doing what we do well: ensuring connection and engagement with students. Teachers are balancing the structure and rigor that are hallmarks of Hotchkiss with optimism and goodness of spirit, qualities equally intrinsic to the School. From desks and bedrooms and kitchen tables around the globe, Bearcats are rising to the occasion, learning from their teachers and from each other. This community is strong.
Still, there are enormous questions not yet answered. Many of these are deeply important to a school community and will drive important decisions around in-person and online education. Others are far broader. When will it be safe for society at large to return to work and communal life and spaces? How does our global society, including individual states and nations, weigh the economic and psychological cost of social distancing against the critical need to limit contagion?
It is becoming increasingly evident that the path through this crisis is testing. The broad availability of testing, combined with effective and ethical contact tracing and selective quarantining, will allow people to return to school, to work, and to (a new) normal life. To reach this outcome, we will need to overcome significant logistical, political, and cost challenges. We must also hew to the guidance of science, respecting the process and time the scientific method requires. As this recent work from the
Rockefeller Foundation discusses, it can be done.
Here on campus, we are working to keep data and scientific perspective at the center of decision-making. The School is considering information from many sources and points of view, collaborating with colleagues at peer schools and institutions in the U.S. and abroad, and tapping into global expertise within our own community.
I am pleased to invite you to join an upcoming conversation with one such advisor,
Dr. Bob Morris '74
. A highly respected epidemiologist, biostatistician, teacher, and award-winning author, Dr. Morris takes an interdisciplinary approach to managing, conducting, and interpreting scientific and medical research.
Dr. Jared Zelman P'04,
Hotchkiss's esteemed medical director, will lead a live-streamed discussion with Dr. Morris centered on the importance of trusting the scientific method and the process of scientific discovery and the risks to sound decision-making when misinformation is allowed to proliferate.
Save the Date: Masks, Myths, and Medicine:
A Conversation with Dr. Bob Morris '74
May 5 at 8 p.m. ET
Look for a formal invitation and Zoom link coming soon.
This promises to be a fascinating discussion. I hope you will join us.
I am also pleased to share some updates from campus, including ongoing work to plan virtual graduation events. Seniors and their families should look in the coming days for additional information on plans to celebrate the great Class of 2020. In addition, this week the School was
pleased to announce
the appointments of Amanda McClure P'18,'22 as associate dean of community life and of Maggie Crain as dean of the Class of 2023. Both roles are integral to our strategic focus on student-centered learning and well-being.
As many of you know, I spent the decade before coming to Hotchkiss in 2016 working for the Aga Khan Development Network Foundation, which is led by His Highness the Aga Khan, a Muslim leader and philanthropist who focuses the Foundation's work on education and health-related projects for people of all backgrounds in the developing world. Doing that work was an extraordinary learning experience for me. A number of former colleagues who have become lifelong friends are faithful Muslims and have taught me a great deal about the values and beliefs of Islam, in particular those of the Ismaili community. In thinking of them during this period of the pandemic, I note that yesterday evening marked the start of Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community for Muslims around the world. No matter our beliefs or practices, we all can benefit from pausing to reflect, to be present, and to focus some attention on the communities of which we are members.
The Hotchkiss family is strong and enduring. As always, I continue to wish you and your families the very best for safety and continuing good health.
All good wishes,
Craig W. Bradley
Head of School
