The UNC Board of Trustees met on Thursday for its first time since the coronavirus outbreak caused the university to move classes entirely online.

Thursday’s meeting was the first in the Board of Trustees’ 227-year history conducted entirely in a teleconference method, with all the members and presenters video chatting from their respective homes and offices. While the board conducted some business, like approving designer selections for minor renovations, the discussion largely focused on COVID-19 and just how much has changed since the last meeting.

Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said while classes have now begun online instruction, the university leadership must solve other challenges to face the ongoing spread. He mentioned protecting the health of the 900 students still living on campus, adding to relief programs set up for students and addressing the virus’ impact on university funding.

“The coronavirus’ impact cannot be overstated,” Guskiewicz said in his opening comments. “Every member of our community has felt the effects. As I’ve said repeatedly over the past few weeks, it’s during extraordinary times we’ve experienced extraordinary people rising up to help others. [But] we’ve had to make agonizing decisions with no easy answers knowing the disappointment, stress and uncertainty felt by our students, faculty and staff.”

One of those decisions was the postponement of spring commencement, which Guskiewicz announced last week after the campus significantly reduced its operations. The university sent out a survey to the senior class this week with alternative options to the typical commencement ceremony, which Guskiewicz said feels like an important thing to do.

“The seniors have been on my mind and the minds of many here on campus over the past several days,” said the chancellor. “Obviously, this has been very disappointing to them, it’s not the way they wanted to end their senior year. We’re trying to do everything possible to make sure that we can still celebrate them in a meaningful way, so I decided I wanted their input on [commencement.]”

The chancellor said seniors submitted more than 4,000 responses in the first few days of the form being shared. While an online stream of commencement with its original May 10 date and one in August were proposed, students have proposed additional options. A ceremony around University Day in October or blending it with the winter commencement in December are also being discussed. Guskiewicz said the university hopes to have a decision made on the matter by mid-April.

Despite those ongoing challenges the board discussed, Guskiewicz pointed to how extraordinary circumstances have led to incredible efforts and shared stories about how the Carolina community has been responding. He praised professional schools for holding informational webinars about handling emergency situations, as well as faculty like Melissa Miller, who’s lab team quickly developed a test for COVID-19 being used by UNC Health, and Rich Superfine, who leads the Department of Applied Physical Sciences.

“He called me on Sunday to tell me of his collaboration with North Carolina State to provide Triangle-area hospitals with personal protective equipment,” said Guskiewicz about Superfine. “Along with [Be A Maker] Director Kenny Langley, students and volunteers are working right now over in the BeAM maker space to make protective shields for our healthcare workers, volunteering hundreds of hours to help overcome this crisis.”

The next UNC Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for May, but trustees said they were unsure whether that meeting will be held entirely over teleconference too.

To learn more about the university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit its web page dedicated to the coronavirus.

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