Dean's Corner

Academic Life After the Storm

By Dr. George Acquaah

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

The events of the week of February 8^th will stick in our minds for quite some time to come! Even for people like me who lived for many years in places like Michigan where such exhibitions of nature, magnificent and awe-inspiring, albeit treacherous and hazardous in some ways, are common occurrences, the events were still dramatic and spectacular. I hope you did not suffer any of the adverse consequences often associated with inclement weather. Welcome back to campus life!

There are plenty of lessons to be learned by all. It is important to acknowledge the fact the administrative decisions that were made, as agonizing as is it was for the president, were made with the interest of students and the entire Bulldog Nation in mind. The university was shut down, just like the federal government in DC, partly because its resources to combat such acts of nature were simply overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the event. The campus was simply unsafe for normal activities to be conducted. Classes were suspended, thereby interrupting the educational program for the semester.

Now that campus life has returned to normal, the goal of the university is to redeem the time by ensuring that the content of all course work would not be diminished, and that arrangements would be made for the lost class time to be made up. This is where you come in. You must play your part for this effort to be successful!! If you have not already been informed by your teachers, they will be doing so in the near future, describing strategies to be adopted to make up for the lost time. Faculty will have to make adjustments in their teaching plans; students will have to make adjustments in their daily schedules to accommodate the additional time needed to complete the missing class work.

Some teachers may extend the normal class time by 5-10 minutes; others may recommend several days of additional full classes, possibly even on weekends. Some classes will include the use of Black Board and other technological aids to help the process. Whatever form the make-up will take, I strongly urge you to apply yourself. Life does not always proceed as smoothly as we plan or desire it to be. We all have to make adjustments along the way.

One thing is certain, as these adjustments are made. The class work load will increase slightly. This means you will have to work a little harder. Do not wait for the material to pile up! Make use of office hours for our courses to gain on-on-one attention from the teachers. Attend tutorials, if you need additional help.

Finally, I extend my heartiest congratulations and sincere appreciation to the work crew, who toiled tirelessly to confront the fury of the weather, in order to keep us safe and even in their failed attempt to keep the campus open, while we rested in the comfort and warmth of our homes. BSU salutes you!! Until next time, this Dr. G saying, keep on top of your game!