During a live Town Hall meeting over Zoom, ETSU President Brian Noland addressed over 250 attendees about the impact of the pandemic on the university.
Noland discussed his goal to meet with over 40 student groups and organizations before the end of the semester in order to learn from the pandemic’s impact on the student body.
“We’re going to take what we’re heard, we’re going to take what we’ve learned, we’re going to incorporate that into the emerging work of the Committee for 125 Chapter II, but most importantly, we’re going to build this action agenda for change on our campus,” Noland said.
“This year has been painful; we’ve missed being together,” Noland continued. “But the power of this institution is in its people.”
Noland provided updates on the budget, enrollment projects, salary enhancements and more. Noland stated he was pleased with the budget and expressed positive enrollment projections.
“I do not envision any further reductions to the university’s base budget,” said Noland.
ETSU is moving through the final stages of selecting a new Provost to replace Wilsie Bishop, who is retiring on July 1 after over 40 years of dedicated service to ETSU.
Noland also announced the Modified Stage 4 method of reopening the campus. The Stage 4 rules will begin on May 15 and be fully operational by July 1. These changes include a return to primarily on-campus instruction, the permittance of large university events and the return to full occupancy of residence halls.
After his opening announcements, Noland answered many questions from staff, students and community members. Some of the questions were submitted before the Town Hall meeting, and others were asked during the meeting.
“I’m confident that we can learn from the events of the past few months as well as the events of the past year, and that we can emerge stronger together as an institution,” Noland said.
