Dear Osher members,
As we get ready to embrace summer and warmer temperatures, our work in the Osher Institute is also “heating up!” Recently, we received preliminary guidance from President Tromp at Boise State University as we begin considering return to the campus and developing our plan for fall classes. For the next few weeks, we will continue to work from our homes; it is quite possible that in mid to late July, we’ll return to the office, so long as we have implemented some new safety standards to keep us all healthy when we make that return. While our buildings are not likely to be open to the public right away,
you’ll be the first to know
when we can open. Plans are always subject to change, but we are cautiously optimistic that we’re moving forward!
We continue to fine-tune the fall schedule of programs and are working with presenters on delivery methods and technology. Once our preliminary plans are approved, we’ll begin announcing what to expect for the fall semester. We will be implementing safety standards that will change some of our procedures this fall, but many are behind-the-scenes activities that you won’t even notice such as cleaning the classrooms and sanitizing surfaces. Changes you will likely see will be check-in tables at each presentation, spacing in the classroom to meet guidelines, and requirements for staff and members to adhere to protective protocols. The ultimate goal is to reintegrate safely while keeping your health, and that of our staff, a priority. Final plans are still to come, but keep watching your email for updates.
I am interested to know if any of you participated in the pen pal program with the Idaho Humanities Council. I signed up and have been enjoying shared conversations with a 95-year old woman in Post Falls whose education and career path are amazingly similar to my own. I hope to meet her in person when it is possible, but meanwhile I am enjoying sending a handwritten letter and receiving the same in my mail.
This month has been full of contemplation about time: using the time wisely preparing for our next steps, experiencing days when “time flies” due to busy schedules, and then other days when time feels like it’s standing still in the wake of COVID-19. “Time is a storm in which we are all lost,” says William Carlos Williams, and that sums up my take on it. We are all waiting, hoping for recovery of very ill people, and for the grace to return to an active life that we may have taken for granted prior to March. How are you feeling about the summer and entering the fall? Are you feeling like your time has been well-spent? Are you ready to move on? Cautiously optimistic about resuming activities? Please continue to keep in touch with us and let us know how you are.
You are missed and cared for. Warmest regards,
Dana
Dana Thorp Patterson, Director
