Strange Days and New Opportunities: Higher Education and COVID-19

May 4, 2020

3 min

Steven Meredith

The worldwide spread of COVID-19 has caused major disruptions in higher education, from significant economic impact to social impact of faculty, staff, and students. On the latest episode of Solutions for Higher Education, Southern Utah University President Scott L Wyatt discusses some of the implications of COVID-19 on higher education and how SUU is working to find solutions. 



“On this podcast, we've spent this semester talking about disruptions and changes in higher education, enrollment projections and all of these kinds of things that are happening,” said Wyatt. “And of all of the disruptions, nothing equals the one no one expected… a global pandemic.”


During the University’s spring break in March 2020, the administration made the decision to shift from face-to-face to fully remote delivery of classes. The use of technology has allowed the University to not only stay in business, but conduct business as near to “normal” as possible. 


“This generation that has been sometimes accused of being overly socially engaged on technology and not socially enough engaged face-to-face,” said Wyatt. “However, it is the most well-equipped generation of all time to be able to handle a pandemic like this.” 


When the University asked students about the new delivery mode and the experience they have had after leaving for spring break, the majority of students were doing fine. Only a third of students surveyed said their experience was worse.


“What we've learned is several things relative to students, and one is that everyone is different,” said Wyatt. “Some people are thriving in this environment. They love being home and having a little more flexibility. And then we have some students that are struggling to get out of bed because they are so depressed by all of this.”


“It reminds me that of all the things that we're trying to teach, the character is probably the supreme,” said Wyatt. “We're trying to help people develop grit, the ability to face change, to adjust their lives. Because the students that leave here are going to see multiple, significant changes throughout their careers, they're going to have many different jobs, the job that they end up doing may not have been invented yet, but they're going to have a lot of disruptions. And perhaps this is helping them realize that they can weather storms.”


President Wyatt notes that one of the biggest lessons learned from this pandemic is that people are capable of doing things that they didn’t know they were capable of. 


“We have more personal strength than we thought we had,” said Wyatt. “I love looking at all of my colleagues and seeing in each one of them a strength I don't have. There isn't strong and weak necessarily, it's ‘we all have different strengths.’ It’s just beyond our strengths, when we're put into environments that we're not conditioned for, we're not ready for, then it's really difficult. And we choose to do our very best and to realize we're living through history.”


“By focusing a little bit on the fact that we're living through history, we're seeing things that we've never experienced before, we're doing our best to help take care of those around us as best as we can, and our belief is that there will be a shift as a result of this. It will leave us changed, both as individuals and as a higher education community nationwide.”


“To think that every single teacher in America is teaching remotely right now and that every single student is learning remotely right now, we will not come out of this… unchanged.“


Hosted by Steve Meredith, Solutions for Higher Education is a podcast featuring Scott L Wyatt, the president of Southern Utah University.



Connect with:
Steven Meredith

Steven Meredith

Steven Meredith Associate VP, Enrollment Management for Graduate and Online

Specializing in graduate programs, online education, music technology, performing arts career preparation, & innovation in higher education.

Conducting Academic innovationChoral MusicHigher Education RecruitmentInterdisciplinary Higher EducationDual Enrollment in Higher Education

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from Southern Utah University

2 min

Billion dollar business - does winning matter anymore in the NFL?

A recent rankings released by Sportco earlier this month showed that the Dallas Cowboys have come the first sports franchise to hit the 10 billion dollar mark. It was announcement that took the sports media by storm. The Cowboys, owned by Jerry Jones, were valued at $10.32 billion, far and away the most valuable franchise in the league and an increase of over a billion dollars on the previous estimate of $9.2 billion in February. Jones, 81, purchased ‘America’s Team’ in 1989 for an estimated $140 million (roughly $355 million in 2024) and has turned the organization into a financial powerhouse. Also serving as the team’s general manager, he oversaw initial success and helped create one of the 90s’ most dominant teams, winning the Super Bowl in the 1992, 1993 and 1995 seasons. However, the Cowboys have struggled to replicate that magic in recent years and have only mustered five playoff wins in the 28 years since they last hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. Most recently, Dallas suffered an embarrassing loss in the Wild Card round against the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 postseason, despite finishing as the second seed in the NFC and having MVP runner-up Dak Prescott on the roster. August 14 - CNN Professional sports is big business. No longer are legacy teams family-owned but most franchises are now conglomerates or essentially companies that operate like any other in corporate America. As franchises continue to evolve - what's changed? Does winning championships matter anymore? Have TV and streaming deals made seats sales less relevant? Does location matter anymore for local fanbases? Will this bubble one day burst? There are a lot of questions out there and if you're looking for an expert to help with your coverage - we can help. Dr. David Berri has spent the last two decades researching sports and economics, while publishing works on a variety of topics including the evaluation of players and coaches, competitive balance, the drafting of players, labor disputes, the NCAA, gender wage gap in sports, and distribution of wealth and power. Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

3 min

Dr. Kevin Stein Receives Fulbright Specialist Award to Spain at Universidad de Murcia

Southern Utah University is pleased to announce Dr. Kevin A. Stein has received a Fulbright Specialist Award to consult as an expert in communication and journalism at the Universidad de Murcia in Spain. Dr. Stein is a professor of communication, director of the Master of Arts in Professional Communication program, liaison for the SUU Office of International Affairs, and published author.  His project will aim to exchange knowledge and establish partnerships benefiting participants, institutions and communities both in the U.S. and overseas through a variety of educational and training activities within the field of communication. "It is such a tremendous honor at this stage of my career to be deemed worthy of a Fulbright Specialist Award,” said Stein. “I've worked with several Fulbright Scholars over the years and have always aspired to do what they've done in creating meaningful cultural connections between SUU and our partner universities abroad." Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected based on academic and professional achievement, as well as a record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields. The Fulbright Program is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Dr. Stein joins over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research, and/or provide expertise abroad for the 2024-2025 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Having grown up in a culturally diverse region of central California, Dr. Stein finds the opportunities provided by this award very personally important to him. "My Jewish bloodline makes me particularly sensitive to the intolerance and racial strife facing many regions of the world,” said Stein. “Because of this strong sense of my own heritage, I believe I have an inherent desire to generate understanding and sensitivity between people of differing cultures.” Stein’s expertise mainly focuses on the rhetoric of attack (kategoria), defense (apologia) and persuasive responses to defense (antapologia). He has published numerous articles addressing a variety of apologetic contexts, as well as books and peer-reviewed articles on different types of political campaign messages. He is the webmaster for Public Apology Central, which archives crisis summaries, transcripts, videos and audio of public apologies (apologia) of public figures in all facets of media. Dr. Stein has presented his academic work at regional, national and international conferences, including presentations at the University of Athens in Greece and the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. While on a year-long sabbatical in China, Dr. Stein directed the American Studies Center at Hunan Normal University in Changsha. Since then he has returned several times as a liaison for the SUU Office of International Affairs and as a teacher in a dual degree communication program offered by Wuhan Polytechnic University and SUU. Dr. Stein has since spent his time directing the MAPC program and participating in SUU's innovative Jumpstart program, which had seven faculty from different disciplines teaching freshmen students all their general education classes as one cohort. “I would like my students to learn the basic theories and research methods in our field and to apply those skills in professional communication industries,” said Stein. “When they leave our program they should be masters in the construction and critical analysis of messages, whether they be in public relations, journalism, politics or business.” Other SUU faculty members who have received the Fulbright Scholar Award include David Schwalb (Ukraine), Jim Aton (China and Indonesia), Jon Smith (Portugal and Swaziland) and Bryce Christensen (Taiwan). Interested in learning more about Dr. Stein's work?  Simply click on his icon now to connect and arrange an interview today.

2 min

Rita Osborn Recognized by National Rural Health Association

Rita Osborn, MBA, has been named this year's Outstanding Educator by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). This award is given to an individual who has dedicated their time and talents to improving the health and well-being of others. Osborn and other awardees will be honored during the NRHA’s 47th Annual Rural Health Conference on May 9, 2024, in New Orleans, Louisiana. “We’re extremely proud of this year’s winners, particularly because of the additional challenges rural health professionals face as we navigate unique and ever-changing environments,” said NRHA CEO Alan Morgan. “They have each made tremendous strides to advance rural health care, and we’re confident they will continue to help improve the lives of rural Americans.” Osborn is the Utah Center for Rural Health Executive Director based at Southern Utah University (SUU). In addition, she leads the Rural Health Association of Utah and directs the Southwest Utah Area Health Education Program. In the quarter-century she has spent promoting health education, Osborn founded the Rural Utah Health Scholars Program that assists students pursuing health careers, and she continues to be instrumental in assisting medical professionals who wish to practice in rural areas. "I am humbled by this award and appreciate colleagues who nominated me, along with supportive members of my team," Osborn said. "I have enjoyed helping students pursue careers in health care, and it brings me even greater satisfaction when they choose to practice in rural Utah." The Utah Center for Rural Health works to promote and enhance the quality of rural health through leadership, advocacy, coalition building and education, and to affect policy and legislation. Looking to know more about rural health?  Then let us help. Ria Osborne is available to speak with media - simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.

View all posts