In this episode of Michigan Minds, Rick Neitzel, associate professor of environmental health sciences in the U-M School of Public Health, explores the strategies and procedures involved in planning for a successful public health-informed semester.
“We’re facing challenges that none of us ever expected to be facing,” Neitzel says. “But the good news is, I think we’re coming up with some very creative strategies to ensure that people still get the content they need, the experience they want, while minimizing risk.”
He notes that some of the approaches U-M is taking to reduce the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus are universal practices: wearing a mask, maintaining six feet or more for social distancing, and avoiding congregating in large groups of people.
“The activities that people have already brought into their lives and hopefully adopted as behaviors are ones that are going to benefit us on campus as well,” he says.
He also discusses the plans for new structures to the classroom environment, which will include de-densifying spaces on campus, and making modifications to the way people will enter and exit the classrooms.
“Things certainly are going to feel different in the fall. I don’t want to downplay that in any way,” he says. “It’s going to change the way that I interact with my students. It’s also going to change the way that the students interact with each other. But I think those changes can be made in a way that will still preserve the learning environment.”
He adds that some of these changes will seem unusual at first, but will eventually become second nature, and asks all people who come to campus in the fall to keep in mind that they as individuals—whether students, faculty, or staff—can have a large and lasting impact.
Learn more about the strategies for the public health-informed semester in this episode of Michigan Minds.
