Arizona State University issued the following announcement on Aug. 17.
Every fall at Arizona State University, a new class of Sun Devils is welcomed into a Community of Care: a place of learning and growth where everyone assumes responsibility for the health, happiness and safety of all.
As the university embarks on this new academic year, that ethos has taken on a special significance. Over the past 17 months, front-line workers have put themselves at risk, researchers and administrators have burned the midnight oil and students and faculty have displayed an extraordinary level of determination and commitment — all in the name of ensuring the promises of higher education are still attainable.
To recognize these valiant efforts and to honor the hardships endured along the way, ASU is launching the Hearts of Gold campaign this fall 2021 semester.
“There’s been a lot of heartache, but there’s also been a lot of courage and strength,” said Joanne Vogel, vice president of student services and a member of the team that has been working to design and roll out the campaign since spring.
“From the innovators at Biodesign to the people who made sure that when a student was locked out of a residence hall, they could get back in, or when the air conditioning broke or a pipe burst, they were there to fix it. Our police were still responding to emergencies, people were still showing up to deliver food or do temperature checks every day, just to make sure that the university remained open and everything kept going. This wouldn’t have worked without them.”
As part of the campaign, everyone in the ASU community is invited to share their own personal Hearts of Gold moment they experienced during COVID-19 — and how it has shaped them — at the campaign website, heartsofgold.asu.edu.
Moments like when staff at the University Technology Office spent weeks equipping classrooms for ASU Sync, a new learning approach that allowed students to continue their studies through fully interactive remote learning.
Or when safety technicians with Environmental Health and Safety placed themselves in precarious situations to manage the necessary waste being produced by the Biodesign Institute.
Or when researchers at the same institute worked round-the-clock to develop the state’s first saliva-based COVID-19 test.
Original source can be found here.
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