GCDI Programming Response to the Coronavirus

Green and blue and yellow succulents bunched together
Jack Haskell: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeviaplanes/

As the Graduate Center and CUNY continue to respond with operational and instructional changes during the COVID-19 outbreak, GC Digital Initiatives will continue to adjust program offerings to meet the needs of our community’s students, faculty, and staff.

Each week for the remainder of the semester, we will post an update to our website with the most current information about program offerings and support. Updates will appear on our website: cuny.is/gcdi.

Starting today, the following Digital Initiatives-wide changes will take effect:

  • Workshops for the remainder of the semester will be cancelled. Those who are currently registered for workshops will receive a cancellation notice through Eventbrite. In lieu of face-to-face workshops, GC Digital Fellows will post the workshop materials that were created as part of a blog post on Tagging the Tower.
  • There will be no face-to-face meetings, including office hours, user group meetings, and events, held in the GC Digital Scholarship Lab through the end of the current semester.
  • The GC Digital Fellows will hold virtual office hours beginning as soon as possible. The revised schedule will be posted on our GCDI calendar. A forthcoming blog post will explain how you can schedule to meet with a GC Digital Fellow.
  • R and Python User Group Meetings will take place virtually, beginning March 20th April 3rd. Please watch the GCDI calendar for updated details with how to connect.
  • Requests for faculty consultations will continue to be accepted; however, all meetings will be scheduled as either phone or video conference calls. No face-to-face consultations will take place for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester.
  • The Call for Participation for the Digital Project Gallery is no longer accepting proposals. This event will be rescheduled for the 2020-2021 academic year.
  • The Digital Archive Research Collaborative (DARC) will meet virtually for the remainder of the current semester. Please become a member of the Commons group to receive updates.

As we attempt to respond to the public health risk that COVID-19 poses, GC Digital Initiatives acknowledges that face-to-face collaboration and instruction cannot simply be replaced by technology solutions. However, we are committed to helping the GC community navigate this unprecedented situation as best we can. We continue to be committed to open-source, free, and accessible technologies, while also balancing an awareness that we must work with the technologies and tools that are available now.

Many groups at the Graduate Center and around CUNY are offering support for faculty and students who are currently adjusting to teaching online. GCDI is actively supporting several institutional efforts, and we encourage you to make use of the following existing resources:

Finally, we want to express our solidarity with the GC community during this difficult and unprecedented health crisis. Over the coming weeks, we will continue to respond to the changing needs and challenges we face together. We remain inspired by and committed to the community-oriented work of our students, faculty, and staff, and we wish everyone good health and safety in the coming weeks.

~ Matthew K. Gold and Lisa Rhody