Salvete Comites!
When I wrote the fall message, there were so many unknowns: would the pandemic subside, or have a resurgence? Would schools be able to deliver instruction virtually? Would college campuses that opened in August have to shut down by September? How would the election turn out? As I am sitting down to write the winter message, it is startling to realize that many of these are still unknowns – more than perhaps we could have anticipated. However, there are also some glimmers of hope – not one but two promising vaccines are nearing completion. Many campuses throughout the state managed to keep the pandemic largely at bay (shoutout to my alma mater William & Mary, which held hybrid classes and kept its COVID numbers down to only 64 caes since August, out of 25,000 tests).
Teachers and professors have had to make plans, learn new platforms, change routines — and then change them again, and again. I can’t help but feel proud of us as a profession, having to povit to reinvent ourselves and what we do, on amazingly short notice.
After hosting a successful fall meeting with over 50 participants, the CAV Executive Committee is eyeing the spring and thinking about how we can support each other in the months ahead. Please invite colleagues who may not be members to join – this year we have waived membership fees so it is a great time to bolster our ranks. The student esssay contests and tournament will still run, albeit in a different format. Our spring meeting – most likely virtual – will still happen in May. So as strange and unnerving as these times are – some things remain the same. I love the term, “comites” to describe our group – “going together” on the journey. I look forward to “seeing” you all one way or another in May.
Curate ut valeatis!
Patty
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