UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
THRIVING IN THE
Age of Covid
W
hen University of the Ozarks opened the 2019-2020 academic year with a Walton Arts & Ideas Series event titled, “Facing Adversity with Optimism and Resilience,” little did the campus community know how appropriate that message would become. The WAIS speaker was J.R. Martinez, an actor, best-selling author, motivational speaker, and wounded U.S. Army veteran, who spoke on campus in August 2019 about his life experiences in recovering and thriving after being severely injured from a roadside bomb in Iraq. “None of us knows what we’re capable of until we’re faced with a tough or unexpected challenge,” Martinez said. “Often this means having to adjust your dream or vision and sometimes even to create an entirely new goal. It can also mean getting through a tough time a week, day, hour or even minute at a time. By focusing on shorter term goals and keeping optimism, and even humor, at the forefront, your entire outlook and perspective can be transformed. We are all stronger and more resilient than we think. In facing challenges and recovering from setbacks, we have new opportunities to develop the unique gifts that have been given to us. It’s about being able to become more than what you can envision at the moment.” 2 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 0
In a short seven months after hearing that message, the Ozarks community was put to the ultimate challenge with the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus forced the University to transition to an all-online teaching and learning format in late March and led to the cancellation of numerous campus events, including the Spring 2020 Commencement ceremony. University President Richard Dunsworth credited what he called Ozarks’ “frontier grit” in helping the University navigate the unprecedented times of the pandemic. We remind people what it might have been like on the frontier when Ozarks was established,” Dunsworth said. “There were times on that frontier where it got very difficult and challenging, and that’s when people stepped up and made things happen. This University has 186 years of surviving and thriving through difficult times, so we know how to handle this.” Dunsworth said he was impressed with his faculty and staff and students in the transition from in-person classes to an all-online format last March following spring break. “When we learned there was going to be a problem, it took approximately 10 days to completely flip the way we deliver classes,” he said. “We took an extended spring break of 10 days
