Dear All –
I wanted to get in touch with all of you (figuratively!) to thank you for your commitment and your patience. We are facing the most significant health crisis in recent memory and we are all concerned about how this situation surrounding COVID-19 is going to evolve.
In order to keep everyone safe and discourage foot traffic in the building, the Psychology main office will close its doors on Friday, March 20th, at 1pm, until further notice.
By now, we all have switched our courses, tests, and exams from in-person to online. Many of us had to change their marking schemes, design new assignments, record online classes, and hold online office hours while their children were out of school or daycare or they had to self-isolate out of a fully-justified abundance of caution. I am not going to pretend that any of this has been easy. I am also not going to pretend that there is an easy roadmap ahead of us. But I do want you to know that we are here to help. Brenda, Ashley, and I will monitor our emails and please do not hesitate to contact us:
Any questions related to undergraduate teaching, please contact Ashley:
waggonerdenton@psych.utoronto.ca
Any questions related to administrative issues, please contact Brenda:
Any questions related to IT support, please contact:
We will be in touch next week with some contact information and guidance on outstanding financial transactions (ie expense reimbursements, accountable advances, invoices etc). Information about payroll for casual employees and the work study program will also be communicated as needed.
Any questions that do not fall into any of the above categories, please contact me:
We do our best to get back to you as soon as we can. I am sure many of you have questions regarding the future, what the impact of the current situation will be on the next academic year. The honest answer is that we don’t know. We will deal with it when the time is right. But we do know that we all care deeply for each other and our students, so I am sure we will find solutions that are in everybody’s best interests. We haven’t received any indication that academic processes will stop, so many of you will receive emails regarding promotions and reviews and PTR. If you have any questions about this, please contact me.
We will spend the rest of this week trouble-shooting issues related to internet access, working from home, and ensuring that students have all the information they need to complete the semester.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend a special thank you to Ashley, Brenda, and our IT team who have all worked tirelessly to ensure that the transition to online teaching and working from home can proceed without any major hurdles.
As this situation evolves, we will continue to do everything to serve you and the Department. Stay home, stay healthy, and stay connected. While we are coming together by staying apart, we can still look out for each other.
All the best,
Susanne