VC video message to thank staff
Wednesday, 18 March 2020
A message from Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Van de Noort.
Today marks a significant milestone in our institutional response to the outbreak of COVID-19.
We are scaling back many of our on-campus operations and, for the rest of the spring term, teaching and assessment will be provided online. Many colleagues will also be transitioning to home working.
This is a huge change to the way we operate and I know many of you will be concerned about the impact on your area of work. I ask you to be patient with colleagues who are working incredibly hard to put these new arrangements in place as quickly and effectively as possible.
I would also like to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to all colleagues who have been supporting our work to mitigate the impact of the outbreak on our activities.
Our Major Incident Team was first convened in January and, since then, many of you have invested a considerable amount of time to respond to ongoing developments alongside preparing contingency measures.
I am particularly grateful for your commitment at a time when the current uncertainty is affecting not just our work, but also our personal lives.
Until recently, we have been able to continue much of our core business as normal. However, as the UK government escalates its response at a national level, we must also respond locally. I understand there will be disappointment in cases where we need to cancel or postpone events and activities, but I hope you will understand that the welfare of our students and colleagues must be our priority.
It is also important to recognise the valuable contribution of our many colleagues who will continue to work on campus in the coming weeks, to maintain our critical services.
Thank you, once again, for all of your hard work and commitment.