Dear USC Roski School Community,

DearUSCRoskiSchoolCommunity,Ihopethisfindsyouwellandstayingsafeduringthefirstpartofoursummer.Thishasbeenanincrediblychallengingtimeforallandhasaffectedeveryaspectofnormalcampuslife.Inthenextfew,shortweeks,USCRoskiwillbewelcominganewcohortandre-connectingwithourreturningcommunityofartistsanddesigners.AlloftheRoskifacultyandstaffhavebeenworkingnon-stopinpreparationforthefallandinsupportingthecreativeeducationandactivitiesofourtalentedstudents.AsProvostZukoski’semailoutlinedonJuly1,ourplanninghasprioritiesbasedonsafety,excellence,flexibility,andlookingforwardtothefuture.UsingthosefourpillarstheUSCRoskiSchoolhassubmittedourrestartplansandiscurrentlyawaitingapprovalfromLosAngelesCountyinpreparationofthenextterm.Oncewearegrantedapproval,adetailedemailwillbesenttoconfirmtheinformationoutlinedhere,ortonotifyifthereareanychangesinourplans.

ThefallstartdateisAugust17,2020withvirtualWelcomeWeekeventsplannedfortheweekprior.Formoreinformationonthefallacademiccalendar,pleasereadtheJune2University’smemo,withinformationaboutProjectRestart.PleaseknowthatourdedicatedcommunityoffacultyandstaffarecommittedtoprovidingexcellenceinteachingandalevelofengagementexpectedofUSC.DespiteCOVID-19andthechallengesitpresents,wewanttoassureyouthatthiscomingsemesterwillbeanopportunitytomeetthosechallengesalongsideothersinthecreativeandacademiccommunities.WhileUSCRoskihasplanstomigratesomeofourcoursesonline,weareofferingmostofourstudio-basedcoursesinahybridmodel.Ourplansbeginbyde-densifyingourpopulationandextendingtimeandaccessacrossourstudioclassroomsandlabsbeyondregularlyassignedclassroomtimes.Webelievethataccesstostudios,fabricationspaces,andoutputlabsareattheheartofacreativepracticeandholdthisasapriorityforourstudents.SAFETYAttheRoskiSchoolofArtandDesign,ourprioritiesarefirstforthesafety,healthandsecurityofourstudents,facultyandstaff.Second,tomakesurethateveryoneofourstudentsisabletomoveaheadon-schedulewiththeirdegreeprograms,acquiringtheknowledgeandskillstheyneedfortheircareers.Ourstaffhasbeenworkingthesepastfewmonthswithuniversitystaff,healthofficials,andcountyleadershiptoensurethattheUSCRoskibuildingsaresafeforyourreturnandwillremainsothroughouttheyear.Theplanstode-densifymeanfewerpeopleinroomsoverawiderspanoftime.Wewillbeimplementingstrictdistancingguidelineforthetimebeingandremindeveryonetheymustwearmaskswheninstudiosoraroundcampus.YES,thismaybechallengingbutartistsanddesignersthriveunderdifficultconditions.PleaseknowthatyouaresupportedbytheentireRoskicommunity;faculty,staffandfellowstudents;andtogetherwewillmeetthesechallengeswithpatienceandcompassion.USCROSKIHYBRIDCOURSES—Manyoftheartanddesigncoursesaremovingtoahybridmodel.Currently,wearedevelopingcoursecurriculumwithlecturesanddemosbeingdeliveredremotelyduringscheduledtimes.Studentswillalsohaveaccesstoreviewandwatchrecordedinstructionbeforeandafterscheduledtimesintheeventtheyresideinadifferenttimezone.Weanticipatethat10-20percentofourprofessorswillbelecturingfromcampuszoomroomsortheirofficesandallfacultywillbeavailabletotheirstudentsremotelyforinstruction,discussionsandcritiques—whilepracticingsocialdistancing—duringclasstimeandstudiohours.USCRoskihasalsoinstitutedatotallyremoteoptionforstudentsunabletoattendinpersonorwhohavehealthissues.Youwillsoonreceiveasurveytoindicateanysuchneeds.

COVID-19posterdesignedbyRoskistudentYuriKawada

Weareworkinghardonaticketingsystemthatallowsyoutoreservededicatedonsitestudiospaces.WithRoskiSchool’srecentexpansion,wehaveampleroomsforaccesstostudiospaceneededwhiledistancing.Bothundergraduateandgraduatemajorswillbeabletobenefitindifferentways.AndlabssuchasGalen,Ceramics,andPhoto,willmovetoa“servicebureau”model,allowingstudentstodropoffandpickupworkwhilesocialdistancing.Thisminimizescontactandensuresthesafetyofstaffandstudents.Labtechswillalsobeavailableremotelytoanswerquestions.Wewillcontinuetomoveinthisdirectionuntilhealthofficialsallowusalltosafelycomebackoncampus;asIassureyou,weareheretobeyouradvocates.BeyondtheClassroomUSCRoskiiscommittedtocreatingarobusteducationalandcommunityexperienceforallourstudentsthatincludesout-of-classexperiencesonline.Thispastyear,Roskiheldmorethan20specialsessionswithartists,designers,scholarsandmorethatincludedYunheeMin,JulioCesarMorales,laurenwoods,GingerShulickPorcella,DaleHerigstad,PaulSahre,BillBarminski,TajFrazierandmore.TheRoskiTalkswillcontinueonline,givingthelargerRoskicommunitytheabilitytoparticipate.Ourfacultyandstaffarealsoworkingonotherareasofvirtualstudentengagementoutsideofclassworkthatwillprovideopportunitiesforcreativityandcommunity.AndUSCisdevelopinganewstudentportalthatwillserveasavirtualquad.Alloftheseoptionswillbecomepartofourpermanentofferingsinthefuture.Fordisplayingourstudents’worksofart,webelieveanenhanceddigitalplatformandexhibitionforumwillattractanevenwideraudienceandgreatervisibilitythantraditionalspaces.WeanticipatethatbySpringterm,wewillbeabletorelaunchourHelenLindhurstFineArtsGalleryforundergraduateexhibitions.Theuniversityisalsoofferingnewsourcesofsupportforourstudentsbyexpandingaprogramtoprovidefinancialandtechnicalsupportfordomesticandinternationalstudentswhohaveconnectivityorhardwareissues(detailstofollow)aswellasanewscholarshipopportunityforthisyearonlythatinvitesstudentstoapplyforascholarshipforuptotwofreeonlineclassesinthe2021summersession.ThespreadofCOVID-19andthedifficultiesithascausedisunprecedentedandmanydecisionsthatarenormallymadewithintheschoolarenowdependentonrestrictionfromhealthofficials.Basedonthesedynamicfactors,wewillbecontinuallyreviewingsafetyprotocolsandwillpivotasnecessarytoensure,tothebestofourability,thesafety,healthandsecurityofourstudents,facultyandstaff.Alloftheseinitiativeswillhelpustoseamlesslytransitioninpersonassoonaspossible.Wehopethiscommunicationishelpfulandthatitanswerssomeofthequestionsyoumayhave.Ifyouhavefurtherquestions,pleasedon'thesitatetoreachout.Andpleaseknowthatfurthercommunicationswillbeforthcomingwithourplansforyour2020-2021academicyearatRoski.Sincerely,HavenLin-Kirk,DeanUSCRoskiSchoolofArtandDesign