No one ever expects a global pandemic to upend carefully laid-out plans for research, student engagement, even co-curricular programming. But when COVID-19 broke–as a story, and as a phenomenon–Colorado State University was surprisingly well-positioned to make significant contributions to understanding the novel coronavirus. as well as developing new ways to cope with its effects. The pandemic ended up providing CSU with the opportunity to showcase a broad range of efforts related to the public health crisis.
As early as March, CSU’s work to help find a vaccine was attracting national attention.
-- Our experts in aging were explaining to a global audience the workings of the immune system that put older people at greater risk of contracting and dying of the disease .
-- Our labs were working on an effective disinfectant.
-- Our faculty were sharing best practices for the pivot to online learning.
-- And our Admissions counselors were finding ways to make virtual campus visits informative and engaging for prospective students.
With so much coming in from every corner of the campus–that’s just a sample of what we published on CSU’s news website SOURCE in March alone, not to mention important messages from campus leadership–it soon became apparent from the sheer volume that the novel coronavirus needed its own place to live on the SOURCE home page.
