COVID-19: SUPPORT FOR OUR STUDENTS
Dear College of Law Alumni Family,
I hope this note finds all of you and yours well during this unprecedented public health crisis.
Today, Dineen Hall is eerily quiet. There are no students, faculty, or staff in the building, but for three of us deemed essential. As unfamiliar as this situation is, I know that wherever they are, our always-resilient students, faculty, and staff are rising to the occasion. Thanks to our faculty’s familiarity with online learning, the College of Law was ready for our rapid pivot to distance education.
Our residential students are now online, learning and engaging in classrooms and meeting rooms, planning annual spring banquets on Zoom, representing clients in our clinics, adding a new dimension to their externships by working remotely, supporting our faculty whose contributions to the national dialogue on the crisis are making the headlines, and supporting one another virtually.
Nevertheless, COVID-19 has displaced students and created deep and unforeseen financial hardships—and new student needs continue to emerge every day. For example, the mandated closure of the Law Library has meant that many students don’t have the ability to print documents they need for class or to acquire necessary books and other materials. Whether as a result of bar examination deferrals, job market shifts, medical expenses, family care, or social distancing mandates, our students are facing unprecedented financial burdens.
Even as we have been working to help them meet the challenges they face, safeguard their wellness, and ensure their academic success, many of you have asked how you can support our students during this difficult time.
I am deeply moved by your concern for our students because I know that you also are coping with the impacts of this virus.
In response to your outreach, we have decided that while our students are weathering this crisis, we will use gifts from the Annual Fund to support them in this time of need. To make a gift to the Law Annual Fund, visit law.syr.edu and click on the orange Give Now button.
With your support of this fund, we can assist students with their most immediate needs and help them access the basic tools that are the foundation for student success. With the resources you share, we’ll make sure they have the hardware, the internet access, and the connectivity they need to continue their studies, work with student organizations, and interact with their loved ones.
I understand that not all in our alumni family are in a position to help at this time. COVID-19 knows no boundaries, and many of you are experiencing serious difficulties as well. Our thoughts are with you. Know that we and our students are deeply appreciative of whatever gift you can provide.
I am profoundly grateful to alumni, parents, friends, and other supporters who in an unprecedented time of disruption have asked how they can help others, even as they grapple with the impacts of this crisis in their own lives.
I wish you and yours continued good health and optimism.
Best regards,
Craig M. Boise
Dean and Professor of Law