March 12, 2020 is a day that students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha will remember for a long time. Switching to remote classes as the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the country was extremely tough to process.
The first case of the pandemic in the United States was January 21, 2020 in Washington state. About two months later on March 13, President Donald Trump declared a U.S. national emergency. All institutions and organizations needed to figure out how to move forward with safe protocols.
UNO Chancellor Dr. Jeffrey Gold announced on Jan. 12, 2021 that UNO will safely return to a new normal with in-person teaching, work and learning operations.
“We knew, I knew and I’m sure our audience did as well that at some point we would return to what I like to call ‘the new normal’. I don’t think it’s going to ever look quite the same as it did in 2019 or 2018,” he said.
Gold said he has confidence in the successful development and distribution of vaccines and enhanced testing accuracy.
UNO’s campus was much emptier than normal this academic year, with remote classes being the main form of learning.
Dr. Jane Meza, Ph. D., a professor in the college of public health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said she believes that students are ready for in-person classes again.
“Given what we’ve seen with what we did last fall and even the spring, we have shown that we can safely return to the classroom,” she said.
Students, faculty and staff look forward to the new normal when the next academic year begins and to seeing a vibrant and healthy campus.
