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Southwest convenes first virtual legislative Town Hall

By Diana Fedinec

Southwest convenes first virtual legislative Town HallSouthwest Tennessee Community College President Dr. Tracy D. Hall and senior leadership convened the College’s first virtual Town Hall Aug. 25 to inform state legislators on the pivots the College has made since the Coronavirus pandemic erupted in March and its Back to Campus Plan for fall semester. Members of the Shelby and Fayette County delegations were invited to attend. The session was moderated by Southwest’s Executive Director of Government Relations, Sherman Greer.

President Dr. Tracy D. Hall shared with legislators the initial response of the College in February 2020 to COVID-19, which included cancelling study abroad trips and administrative travel, to where the college is now – a reimagined Southwest that includes online, virtual, on-campus and hybrid teaching and support services. Dr. Hall thanked the legislators for their support and ensured everyone that the college is doing everything it can to continue to provide a quality education for students.

Vice Presidents of Student Affairs Jacqueline Faulkner and Academic Affairs Dr. Kendricks Hooker provided an overview of the innovative student-centered solutions that were implemented to transition students to full online support services, and how faculty and students adapted to a new online teaching and learning environment through the creation of new teaching modalities, a flexible academic calendar and a new laptop loan program for students.

Associate Vice President of Workforce and Economic Development and Continuing Education Anita Brackin mentioned the division’s launch of free online courses to 18,000-plus registrants and goals to transition individuals to emerging careers in the new Covid economy. Vice President of Finance and Administration Mike Neal gave an overview of campus safety measures and the fiscal impact of the Coronavirus on the College’s revenue.

A Q&A concluded the Town Hall with questions primarily raised on student outreach. To watch Southwest’s Town Hall – Legislative Edition on-demand, click on the graphic below or this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jT344Y195Y.

For more information on the College’s Coronavirus response, visit http://www.southwest.tn.edu/coronavirus/.  To learn more about the four phases of the Back to Campus Plan, visit Southwest’s Back to Campus Plan site.