July 17 Safe Return news center update

Greetings Saints community,

Associate Vice President for Mission Integration Sister Kathleen Del Monte has led the creation of a Community Pledge to guide all of us – faculty, staff and students – as we navigate the challenges of the pandemic. Here is the pledge. Please read it and take its message to heart. It will be shared with students by Dean of Students Megan Perry-Spears and will be displayed on our main css.edu/covidresponse page. Sister Kathleen provided this brief commentary about the Pledge:

As members of this Benedictine community, we honor the inherent dignity of each member and are committed to caring for all. During this time of COVID-19, as always, we strive in our words and actions to be living examples of our core values. These shared values of Community, Hospitality, Respect, Stewardship, and Love of Learning call us to care for and be attentive to one another as we seek to live and learn in a safe environment. Our Community Pledge expresses this solemn responsibility, recognizing that each one of us plays an integral part in the well-being of all of us.

Advocates campaign to begin
We’re about to roll out our SaintsRiseUp Safe Return Advocates on social media. The Advocates are faculty, staff and students who are encouraging everyone to follow our Safe Return guidelines. Their selfies and messages will start appearing on social media next week, with a goal of positively influencing campus culture. We’re already seeing social media advocacy from some of our Saints athletes, who are sharing messages encouraging folks to wear face coverings so that they’ll be able to wear their football helmets this fall! We’re proud of these students for showing leadership and setting a great example.

We welcome even more Advocates to spread the word. If you’re interested, please contact the College’s communications department. It’s as easy as sending in a selfie of yourself wearing your face covering.

Relation during isolation
Our own Dr. Connie Gunderson, associate professor of social work, will offer a valuable community service next week. She’ll lead a free webinar entitled “Relational Resiliency” at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 21. She will invite participants to explore how relationships support resiliency, especially in challenging times such as these. Her talk will be followed by an open question-and-answer session.

Thank you all sincerely for the tremendous efforts as we approach the beginning of the new academic year.  I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

Stay safe, be well.
Barbara