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Band members social distance at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Facing COVID unknowns, CAS finds order, innovation and progress in meeting challenges

Thursday, September 30, 2021

Media Contact: Jacob Longan | Coordinator of Communications and Marketing | 405-744-7497 | jacob.longan@okstate.edu

When OSU initially shifted its classes online for two weeks following 2020’s spring break, most thought things with the still-new coronavirus would resolve and in-person classes would resume in plenty of time for finals. Instead, courses remained virtual, and OSU faculty, staff and students finished the semester from home.

In the College of Arts and Sciences, not everyone was working remotely, though. Associate Dean for Research and Facilities Dr. Kristen Baum, for example, dealt with ordering supplies, rearranging classrooms, developing recommendations and protocols, and otherwise bringing CAS into compliance with universitywide COVID-19 procedures.

“One of the roles I played within the college was trying to reduce some of the burden on departments by providing resources at the college level,” said Baum, who credited others with helping her and the college adjust to safety guidelines. “It was just such a frantic time trying to find what you could — masks, hand sanitizer, Plexiglas — but so many different people across campus rose to the challenge. … Everyone was contributing.”

Over the summer of 2020, Baum helped prepare CAS for students’ return in the fall. Spreadsheets, memos and meetings were the name of the game.

Dr. Kristen Baum
Dr. Kristen Baum

“There were so many moving parts, but we had great communication among units on campus,” Baum recalled. “There for a while if I just picked up the phone and called, everyone shared everything they knew, from colleagues in CAS departments to purchasing to facilities management to other colleges across campus. Collectively, you can come up with much better ideas and solutions when you talk with people.”

Thanks to the efforts of Baum and her colleagues — and the cooperation of students — the College of Arts and Sciences avoided any major COVID-19 outbreaks during the 2020 school year. The university returned to full in-person classes this fall.

IN THE CLASSROOM

“There’s nothing like being in the classroom with the students,” said Dr. Gabriel Cook of the Department of Chemistry. “I think the past year and a half has taught us that there are other ways to deliver material and with the right tools they can be extremely helpful and beneficial … but I look forward to seeing all the students back in the hallways and back in their seats again.”

Like many professors, Cook had to figure out how to give lectures and conduct lab work with students. Instead of having 170 students in an elbow-to-elbow lecture hall, Cook taught in the Colvin Recreation Center gymnasium — the size of four basketball courts. And to keep at least some on-campus labs as part of his class, he “reduced the number of students in each lab period so that we could spread them out,” he said. “This afforded all of the students the chance to do at least four experiments in person during the semester.

“All of these classroom changes, for better or worse, allowed us to continue teaching and kept our students learning, even in these strange and uncertain times,” he added.

Dr. Donald French of the Department of Integrative Biology encountered similar challenges, including how to continue with a course-based undergraduate research experience, or CURE model of instruction.

Dr. Donald French
Dr. Donald French

“This involved having students collaborating in teams to conduct multi-week experiments that they designed,” French said. “The challenge was to continue to provide this collaborative, authentic experience where students would continue to gain experience in the use of laboratory equipment.”

The solution happened “almost overnight,” French said, with instructors teaching each other how to use collaborative authoring tools to enable easy document sharing and video conferencing with students.

“The instructors then served as the hands in the lab while the students directed them and monitored the data collection over the internet. It was amazing to walk into a lab of experiments running and the instructor walking from station to station to converse with each team by videoconference.”

That was spring 2020. By fall 2020, half of each four-person lab team came in to do hands-on experiments while their counterparts participated simultaneously via webcam.

“I wish I could say there were no technical difficulties or stressful situations, but overall I can say that students produced work of the same caliber as pre-pandemic,” French said.

GREENWOOD’S CHANGES

In addition to webcams and the ever-present face masks, departments utilized supplies ranging from disinfecting sprays, UV-C lighting and HEPA air filters to USB microphones, specially designed vocalist masks and musical instrument covers — the latter three applying, unsurprisingly, to the Greenwood School of Music.

“The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on every aspect of music instruction,” said Greenwood School of Music director Dr. Jeffrey Loeffert, who worked with CAS leadership to procure funding and equipment that helped the department’s unique teaching situations. “I mostly feel very lucky that no Greenwood School of Music students, staff or faculty became severely ill as a result of COVID-19. … We must be committed to taking the lessons learned during this period to ensure that we are more capable and efficient than we were previously, and we are poised to do that. We can and are doing things that we did not think possible even a year ago.”

Dr. Jeffrey Loeffert
Dr. Jeffrey Loeffert

Because the Greenwood School of Music has such an outward-facing presence, with regular concerts and performances open to the public, Loeffert and his department got creative with how that visibility could continue. They partnered with OState.TV to livestream concerts, continued developing the Greenwood School of Music app and found a way to do some in-person performances.

“Our opera faculty, Professors Steve Sanders and April Golliver-Mohiuddin, began the Pokes’ Pop-Up Performance Series, which includes a large flat-bed trailer that is appropriately outfitted with a stage setup and a power generator to allow for live outdoor performances anywhere we can park a trailer,” Loeffert said, adding that venues spanned from Hideaway Pizza to the Lowe’s parking lot.

“When our students look back at this year, they will remember instructors who were committed to helping them achieve at their maximum potential despite the difficult circumstances,” Loeffert continued. “Really, what better lesson could there be? We do not find a path to success — we create a path to success. Our aim is to serve our students, and even a pandemic will not stop us from meeting our instructional mission.”

STUDENTS’ TAKE

While CAS faculty and staff were instrumental in ensuring the mitigation of COVID cases while continuing research and instruction, the college’s students valiantly adapted to changes as well. Jacob Burch-Konda, a cell and molecular biology master’s student from Kingsburg, California, took his lead from Dr. Tyrell Conway, head of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

“He mentioned that our department should serve as kind of a role model for the campus community when it came to following COVID-19 precautions,” Burch-Konda said, citing the professors’ and students’ relevant knowledge of pathogens. “I think we definitely delivered on that.”

Burch-Konda’s research on calcium signaling in the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa was one of many experiments across campus that couldn’t be put on hold, which motivated him to stay healthy and forge ahead with the work regardless of the obstacles.

“We had a culture of trying to minimize risk and protecting those around us,” Burch-Konda said. “This pandemic has taught me that students and professors are quite resilient and can work through almost any challenge. It’s encouraging to know that our studies and research didn’t have to come to a complete halt even under these crazy circumstances. After working through COVID-19, I think I’m more confident that I can tackle any tough scenario down the road.”

Megan Hays from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, shares that conviction. The triple major in chemistry, psychology and biochemistry wasn’t thrown by the physical distancing in the lab where she worked to replicate an organic synthesis and then isolate compounds — “We’re already decently spread out,” she said — but the limited interactions with advisors proved challenging.

“We could only contact our advisor through email … so the graduate students really banded together to help each other and me in identifying the issues and offering solutions,” Hays said. “I developed more confidence in the lab. Since there wasn’t always someone in the lab to help, I had to trust myself to make the right decision and go through with it.”

As a researcher who could do most of her work from home, mass communications graduate student Kelli Norton wasn’t as significantly affected by the pandemic restrictions. The Bixby, Oklahoma, native utilized video conferencing with her team of Media Ecology and Strategic Analysis (MESA) Group researchers as they analyzed interviews and articles, noting that the distance actually brought them closer together.

“Because we were separated, we had to make an effort to make time to help each other,” Norton said. “When we were able to meet safely, it was special. You could tell we wanted each other to succeed. When you are in a research group like MESA, everyone wants the project to do well. Everyone is walking toward the same goal.”

The idea of a shared goal also translates to the hundreds of students and professors within the 24 departments of the College of Arts and Sciences. Although the pandemic is not yet over, the lessons learned during the first 18 months promise to continue into the future.

“I think we’ve become more understanding as teachers and students,” Cook said. “College is hard enough without having to deal with a pandemic. ... I think students sometimes forget that we, as faculty, want our students to learn and to be successful. We’ve come to understand that things aren’t going to be perfect, but putting in the effort is worth it, and now we know we can get through anything.”


Photos By: College of Arts and Sciences

Story By: Elizabeth Gosney | CONNECT Magazine

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