Staff in UD’s Charles C. Allen Biotechnology Laboratory adapted equipment used for monitoring the health of Delaware’s massive poultry industry to begin processing COVID tests, providing results in a matter of hours at a time when outside testing centers typically took several days. Daily health checks for everyone entering a campus facility also helped slow the spread of COVID by identifying those experiencing symptoms.

“The tireless work of our staff, many of whom are volunteers, has been absolutely essential to the success of this effort,” said Mark Seifert, director of UD Emergency Management. “We added an entire new workforce to meet the need for on-campus surveillance testing. Facilities workers, lab workers, public safety and so many others quickly figured out how to make these operations happen. ” 

Also, UD nursing students got unique, hands-on experience at the testing sites, turning classroom knowledge into real-world skills. 

“This is a great opportunity to help out on campus,” said Shaena Friedman, a senior nursing student.

What’s ahead? With more people on campus in the spring semester, the scope of UD-run testing has tripled, and UD has partnered with public health officials to provide even more testing on or close to campus. Also, the Delaware Reserve Medical Corps — a joint effort of UD and the Delaware Division of Public Health — is recruiting and overseeing volunteers to help with the state’s vaccination sites. 

“So many people just said, ‘Tell me how I can help,’ even though they had plenty of other work to do,” said John Long, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “It has been incredibly inspiring to see the dedication of the Blue Hen community during this challenging time.” 

When the pandemic hit in mid-March 2020, UD’s Office of Communications and Marketing and UD Information Technologies organized a call center to help provide answers and reassurance to anxious students, parents, faculty and staff about the new virus. More than 135 people from throughout the University — from alumni relations and student affairs to athletics, facilities and more — helped field nearly 2,000 phone calls and emails in just the first week. Staff members continue to respond to inquiries — more than 3,000 in the past year — as the University’s operations adapt and evolve.

About 150 staffers volunteered over the summer to assemble about 38,000 safety kits for students, supplying them with face coverings, hand sanitizer and other essentials when they arrived on campus. Volunteers also added labels to more than 40,000 vials used in campus testing sites, helped students move into the residence halls and are delivering meals to students in quarantine or isolation because of the virus. 

Also, information technology staff members delivered laptops, monitors, web cameras and other equipment to faculty members at home so they could continue to teach their courses. Specialists in online education found themselves in high demand among faculty and colleagues who needed to ramp up their skills quickly. Coaches and other Athletics staff worked in a variety of roles, helping with residence hall inspections and monitoring the safe use of facilities; a few even learned to drive the Zamboni to maintain the ice arena.

“United by compassion and focus, everyone elevated their commitment to creativity and interdisciplinary problem-solving to an entirely new level,” said Glenn Carter, vice president for communications and marketing. “It’s really a defining element of our culture at UD.”

The University expanded investments by more than $6 million in 2020 to improve the online learning experience for our students. We enhanced online platforms, upgraded computer hardware and added instructional designers to help faculty adapt their courses for online delivery. Faculty in our highly ranked online MBA and online masters’ programs in education aided their colleagues in adapting their courses to digital platforms. 

Staff from throughout the University collaborated to help make the switch to online learning as smooth and effective as possible. UD’s Faculty Commons brings together the efforts of the Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning; Information Technologies; the UD Libraries, Museums and Press; and Professional and Continuing Studies to support faculty throughout the academic year. The Faculty Commons also launched a new Teaching Online website to connect faculty directly to resources. 

The online resources of the Library, Museums and Press, including expanded access to e-books and streaming media, continued to be available remotely for all UD students, faculty and staff. The Library offered virtual services, such as live research assistance, consultations, workshops and teaching collaborations to ensure students and faculty had the support needed in the online environment.

More than 1,250 professors have participated in training so they could seize the opportunity to refine their teaching in this digital environment.

• “Professors have been excellent about integrating more technology into their teaching. Online instruction makes it possible to use modeling software or simulations during a lecture while the students try it on their own computers. [Asynchronous learning] provides the flexibility I need during these difficult times to work when I can.” — Jackson Burns, Junior, Chemical Engineering

• “Online teaching isn't simply ‘putting your course online’ but instead, rethinking assignments/projects and how to meet the learning goals to create a whole different course that actually works better online.” — Katya Roelse, Instructor, Fashion and Apparel Studies

to the Delaware Emergency Management Agency in March. Then, UD researchers and staff scoured their labs and the Library’s conservation department to collect about 25 cases of gloves, lab coats and N-95 respirators for the Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Company, a volunteer-run fire company that protects UD and the surrounding area.

“UD has been fantastic,” said Jeffrey Sands, Aetna’s deputy chief. “We’re in unprecedented waters, and it is relationships like this that are helping us get through.”