COVID-19 struck earlier this year just as UVA was making strong progress on its global aspirations with a record number of study abroad and globally-themed research programs, a growing population of international students, a quickening pace of internationally-themed events on Grounds, and ever more ‘Hoos moving on to global careers from the Peace Corps to private enterprise. The pandemic’s brutal swiftness severely jolted this progress, as we recalled hundreds of students home from overseas programs, many of our international students departed, and we prohibited all University international travel until further notice. As we prepare for extended operations under the pandemic, we struggle with the uncertainty of when borders will reopen, visa processing will resume, and safe travel will return.
Critics of global engagement cite the pandemic as yet another reason to build more walls and disengage from the world around us. At Global Grounds, we believe just the opposite. An enduring lesson of the pandemic in our inescapably interdependent world must be that our health and security, indeed our very future, demand more global engagement, not less. More collaboration among scientists and researchers in developing therapies, preventions, and cures. More cooperation and communication among public health experts, border guards, transportation companies, and political leaders to coordinate well-informed policies that will protect all of our health. More coordination among central banks, businesses, and private charitable organizations to protect us, especially the most vulnerable, from the threat of economic collapse. And more human connection across borders to reassure us that despite the isolation that protecting our health requires for the short-term, we remain inextricably linked.
Although we are still in the early days of pandemic response, it is already clear that UVA will remain globally engaged and committed whatever the challenges. With this message, I am pleased to launch UVA’s Global News, a monthly newsletter that will spotlight the University’s global mission, provide a forum for discussion of global issues, and publicize opportunities for further global engagement. The newsletter’s editor, UVA Global Communications Officer Mandira Banerjee, and I invite all in the UVA community – students, faculty, staff and alumni – to contribute items for publication, publicize globally-themed events, and offer suggestions for other coverage by writing to us at [email protected]
Stay Global!
Steve Mull
Vice Provost for Global Affairs
