By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


Administrators and staff from Cleary University held a town hall meeting on the future of higher education and ongoing social issues.

The Cleary University Higher Education 2020 Virtual Town Hall took place Monday evening, online. The conversation started with the challenges educators face with re-opening in the COVID-19-age. Recognizing that student and staff safety are a top priority, Interim President and Provost Emily Barnes said they also need to find a way to keep the student experience in mind. Calling students the “pulse” of the university, she said they are working on ways of keeping students engaged and putting into place the things that make a campus a campus. As for learning in the fall, Barnes said classes have all been built to taken online or in-person. This flexibility could even provide students the opportunity to float between the method that works best for them class to class. Barnes said this also teaches important workplaces skills that will transfer to jobs outside of college.

The panel also tackled social unrest across the country and in Livingston County. Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies Dr. Regina Banks-Hall talked about being an African-American that works in the predominantly white Livingston County and said we have to embrace the tough conversations and be part of the change. To parents and students who may be concerned, she said there are some history issues, and you should be aware, but that your student is here to get an education and that this can be an important chapter to use in their life. Dean of Undergraduate Studies, David Hayes, said they talk about racial unrest and have conversations on campus, particularly in his Communications class. He said many younger students come in from largely homogeneous neighborhoods and when you get to college you will encounter someone else’s experience that is 100% different from yours. Hayes said it’s not uncommon to see as student’s progress that you see lights go on and minds change, with students bonding over dialogue they never thought they’d have.

The town hall in its entirety can be heard through the link below.