“Storms Within” — A message from President Hatch

Dear faculty and staff,

This summer, for the first time in over 40 years, Julie and I did not go to Priest Lake, Idaho, and visit the land and cabin which her great grandfather began visiting in 1920 – exactly 100 years ago. Like a lot of you, this is no normal season; travel has been stopped, vacation plans disrupted, family reunions postponed and youth camps canceled.

This summer, instead of taking a deep breath, kicking back and forgetting the work-a-day world, all of us have faced anxiety and worry. Worry about the virus and potential exposure, about changing economic conditions, and about job security. Race relations nationally and here in Winston-Salem is another discomforting and painful reality. To add insult to injury, we face this time of national crisis in an election year with little steady leadership and a dysfunctional political system. In a recent column, Peggy Noonan speaks about how, in America today, the storms without are causing deep storms within. She describes our country as “a coalition of the worried.” “People who haven’t worried in years are worried, and it’s not about regular things. It’s about big essential things. It’s a whole other order of anxiety,” she wrote.

I am so grateful for so many faculty and staff at Wake Forest, who, despite these worrying conditions, are working harder and more creatively than ever. Faculty are investing huge amounts of time and energy in reworking their courses to ensure that students will receive courses of the first order – by whatever means. Course schedules have been entirely revamped to account for in-person, blended and remote offerings. Campus life is being reinvented so that students can live, eat, relax and engage each other in conditions that are safe and distanced. Protocols for testing, isolation and quarantine are being implemented. Our health professionals are working overtime, forming plans to help keep all of us as safe as possible. Decisions are being made about which offices should be open, how many employees should be on campus, which guests can visit the campus and how buildings can best be cleaned.

Reinventing the University on this scale has involved hundreds – even thousands – of decisions. And there is no guiding playbook. Conditions are changing daily, which means issues are constantly rethought, new questions raised and protocols reworked. This is exhausting work, and I am amazed that so many at Wake Forest have taken it on, day by day, with steady hands and positive spirits. I have never seen such pervasive teamwork.

I am concerned about all of us at Wake Forest as we face an unpredictable fall. There is little that is secure about our personal lives or our home and family situations. And what will happen as we reopen our campus to students and launch a new academic year?

Part of my own stress stems from a need to balance a mindset of perseverance with one of agility. Usually when we persevere, we commit ourselves to a steady path – the sustained duty of, say, writing so much each morning, engaging the same routine of outreach to people, or reacting with calm and resolve to whatever problems students may bring. We are disciplined in a steady course, putting one step in front of another.

Yet, this year we are called to couple this kind of resolve with something else – not knowing, at all, what the next step might be. We are also called to remain agile, ready, at a moment’s notice, to change course. We may need to discard the best-laid plans and move in a different direction. This combined pressure – of perseverance and of agility – is like nothing I have ever experienced in higher education, and I think that adds to our own sense of frustration and worry. I may prepare for weeks for something which may or may not come about. In the end, in the blink of an eye, a new plan may be necessary.

In this anxious moment, when perseverance and agility are called for, and when necessary isolation leaves all of us more alone than ever, the University is working hard to protect faculty and staff. For the first time, we have established a new medical service staffed by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Our counseling center and our chaplain’s office stand ready to assist. And our human resources policies are designed to be as flexible as possible given the difficulties facing faculty and staff families.

In these days, let me encourage all of us to take care of ourselves – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Many are feeling frayed, bewildered and tired of the prevailing uncertainty. Find ways to try to relieve that pressure. In this most unusual moment, don’t be too hard on yourself.

And as we give ourselves grace, let me also suggest that we practice patience and kindness. Give your colleagues the benefit of the doubt. Be patient when someone seems at wit’s end. Make adjustments and remain flexible in how and when work is done. Offer words of encouragement, when you can, and expressions of appreciation and gratitude.

Finally, the challenge and stress of the moment call for creativity and hope. Use your ingenuity and try to solve unexpected problems as they arise. Take the initiative to reach out to those who are struggling whether they are students, staff or faculty.

The outer storms that confront us are not likely to abate for months to come. And thus our lives, at home and at work, will continue to be disrupted. In this climate, I trust all of us will help each other cope with the inner storms that can so naturally rage. We need to envision, even if we cannot fully attain, a calm and steady presence that is in the eye of the storm. Holding fast to what is important and enduring can counter the fury of external wind and waves. We can calm the inner storms even if the external ones do not subside.

In all of this, I am confident that we will come through stronger and more resilient as an institution. I have never seen such creativity and commitment by scores of faculty and staff, working mightily on behalf of the common good. It is something I will never forget and for which I am deeply grateful. We speak of our institutional commitment to Pro Humanitate – for the common good. In this dark time, I have seen that lived out in countless ways – in creative solutions, in willingness to jettison cherished traditions, in acts of kindness, in tasks that burn the midnight oil.

These pervasive acts of community spirit have brightened my own spirits in recent days. They have been a welcome beacon, steadying the course for this very special community of learning. They have worked to calm my own inner storms and given new hope for our future together.

Sincerely,

Nathan O. Hatch
President