Responding to Coronavirus: A Leadership Town Hall

In a virtual town hall held on May 7, President Sarah Mangelsdorf and four other senior University leaders provided updates to the community about the impact of COVID-19 on the University, the actions they’ve taken, and addressed several of more than 100 questions submitted by community members before and during the hour-long livestreamed event.

Cautioning that there may be additional waves of the virus, Mangelsdorf expressed confidence that “what we have now is the benefit of experience and an understanding of the virus, and that will make, I believe, a dramatic difference.” The University’s formal response to the virus began early in February, when Mangelsdorf assembled the Coronavirus University Response Team (CURT).

The event was facilitated by Jane Gatewood, vice provost for global engagement. In addition to Mangelsdorf, it included Robert Clark, provost and senior vice president for research; Holly Crawford, senior vice president and CFO; Mark Taubman, CEO of the Medical Center and dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry; and Tony Kinslow, associate vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer.

The panel addressed a range of topics, including the financial impact of lost revenue due to COVID-19; the effect of lost revenue on University operations as a whole; the state of potential vaccines and therapeutics; and scenarios under which in-person teaching, research, and campus life might resume in the fall.

Mangelsdorf began by highlighting the work done by the response team, as well as faculty and staff around the University, to swiftly transfer to online learning; oversee plans to vacate residence halls; convert dorm space for quarantine; move students remaining on campus to single rooms; arrange for the continuation of essential student services; and assist international students attempting to return home—and students studying abroad to get home—during a time of rapidly shifting travel restrictions.

“We have exceptional people at this institution, and every single one accepted the challenge before us,” she said.

Taubman spoke about the medical and public health requirements that would need to be met to resume regular University operations. Step one, which he said has been largely achieved, is to assure state officials “that we have the plan, the beds available, the protective equipment, and everything we need to be able to handle a surge of substantially larger size then we got.” He noted that University’s Medical Center was the first major medical center in the state to be permitted to resume elective procedures.

The Medical Center must also show that the daily number of new infections, hospitalizations, the deaths is either stable or falling—and as important, that there is a system in place to track symptoms. Taubman said that Medical Center researchers have developed a symptom tracker, as a well as a plan for testing, containment, and tracing. But it will be critical, he added, that as the plan is rolled out, “we can respond very, very quickly to little pockets that may arise and prevent this from creating another surge.”

Clark reported that he is overseeing multiple academic planning efforts, one focused on instruction and the other on research, and each envisioning several scenarios that could evolve in the fall and in the coming academic year. He pointed to “a likelihood that we will have both… asynchronous and synchronous” instruction, but added, “If I could forecast the future, I’d be very happy right now.”

Crawford spoke about the scale of the financial impact of COVID-19, noting that by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, she expects a roughly $386 million shortfall in inpatient care revenue; a $14 million loss from refunded room and board; and a lower endowment value due to volatility in the financial markets. But while gifts to the University have declined since March, she said that more than 4,500 people had donated to the University in April “to support research, teaching, financial aid, and giving to our emergency student fund. I want to thank all of those donors who are listening tonight. We value your partnership and we appreciate all that you are doing to assist us through this crisis.”

Kinslow addressed questions about temporary furloughs and other policies affecting University employees. He noted that furloughs required the creation of a new University policy but were ultimately the best option to meet budget goals while maintaining the University’s human resources to the greatest extent possible.

“A lot of work went into, and a lot of thought and effort went into, characterizing how we would try to keep as many of our folks whole as possible, first off; and then, how can we utilize what was being offered through the state as well as the federal government,” he said, referring to New York state unemployment benefits and federal benefits under the CARES Act.

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