President Christina Paxson P’19 discussed the recent federal actions and national issues, reaffirming the University’s support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Black Lives Matter movement and LGBTQ+ rights during Tuesday’s special faculty meeting.

At Tuesday’s special faculty meeting, attendees passed a motion to create the Procedural Integrity Committee, which will take over responsibilities regarding denials of promotion, tenure and reappointment from the Committee on Faculty Equity and Diversity.

The University is currently “planning intensely” in order to be prepared to implement the three-semester calendar for the coming academic year in light of the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of whether these fall, spring or summer semesters are held in person or online.

The Rhode Island School of Design plans to open its campus for Fall 2020 in a “de-densified” model, according to a community-wide email sent by RISD President Rosanne Somerson Monday afternoon.

Dean of the College Rashid Zia ’01 and Dean of the Graduate School Andrew G. Campbell also announced that changes will be made to the current pre-registration system to “improve this process for all students,” in the community-wide email announcing the delay Wednesday.

The deficit for Fiscal Year 2021 will be “significantly larger” than previous years and could range from $100 million to $200 million, President Christina Paxson P’19 announced at Wednesday’s faculty meeting. 

At a special faculty meeting Wednesday, Provost Richard Locke P’18 detailed a potential tri-semester model for the 2020-2021 academic year, but also explained that the University is preparing for the possibility of a fully remote fall semester.

While President Christina Paxson P’19 said she is “very cautiously optimistic” that an on-campus experience split into three terms could happen for the coming academic year, the safety of community members and the observance of public health guidelines will remain priorities.

President Christina Paxson P’19 announced three possible scenarios for the 2020-2021 academic year in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at Tuesday’s faculty meeting. 

When Jenny Huang’s ’23 acting class transitioned to remote learning after the University canceled in-person classes and evacuated campus in March , her professor asked students to switch to performing monologues telematically.