Dear Lang Community,

The impact of COVID-19 on our society, our economy, and our campus, is unprecedented. I hope each of you is managing through this challenging time, when we are reminded of the importance of health above all.

I assure you that the University of Guelph is working together to keep our students, faculty and staff safe. All face-to-face classes have been suspended, with courses and final exams transitioning to an alternative environment allowing students to complete their term. We have reached out to offer support, from library needs to wellness counselling, and are continually monitoring this dynamic situation.

For most of us, COVID-19 could be characterized as a rare and unforeseen event. This global pandemic challenges people, firms and governments to be strategically agile and resilient, even beyond our experiences with 9/11, the financial crisis in 2008, or the Fukushima accident. Lang faculty are providing insights and analysis in response to COVID-19.

Professor Felix Arndt studies how firms prepare and adapt to new situations. His advice for large firms is to fast track the upscaling of digital capabilities. This does not only include infrastructure, but the design of synchronous and asynchronous work environments, upskilling digital teams and digital leadership, rethinking and opening innovation initiatives, as well as creating digital-based learning and development environments for employees. Start-ups can leverage their networks and use their ecosystem to give help, and to get support from bigger partners. Social capital is more important than ever.

The Lang School's method of blended program delivery has supported our transition during the pandemic to alternative course formats, using technology to maintain quality. Visit our Lang Experts portal [1] to read more. From a human resource perspective, Prof Nita Chhinzer looks at the importance of paid sick days; food supply chain issues are assessed by Prof Simon Somogyi; and, Prof Marion Joppe discusses the impact on travel and tourism. More will follow, and we invite your experiences, comments and questions to help shape the conversations. 

The University leadership is diligently overseeing the management of our pandemic plan, with the most up-to-date response posted here:  https://news.uoguelph.ca/2019-novel-coronavirus-information/ [2]

Finally, please stay safe and healthy, and know that our Lang community is working to get through this together.

Sincerely,

Sara Mann

(Interim) Dean,

Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics