Upon welcoming President Grandillo to Madonna University in 2015, we instituted several event traditions for faculty, staff, Felician Sisters, and Board of Trustees as we began the academic year. For the last five years, these events, the President’s State of the University Address, and the Welcome Back Social, took place in August prior to the first week of classes. The approximately 40-minute address was held on Monday morning, and included a continental breakfast and time for mingling. The social reception was held on Wednesday afternoon, and included beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres. It also included a short program where new faculty and staff that joined the Madonna community within the last year were introduced.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the State of Michigan hard beginning March 2020. Our faculty and staff worked remotely through the end of May, and most were furloughed to part-time through July. As the planning began in June for our welcome back traditions, the President’s State of the University Address and the Welcome Back Social needed to be completely reengineered: combining two events into one, re-locating to an outdoor location, limiting capacity to a hundred attendees, holding multi-day sessions, and requiring social distancing and mask wearing. The three event sessions allowed the attendees to live out the Franciscan values and support one another in a time of such dire uncertainty and worry, kept our attendees safe, and created an in-person environment for the president to deliver his message in an engaging way for all attendees.
From the Judges
This was a very detailed program to keep people safe during a pandemic, while also honoring members of their university. Very well thought-out and budget friendly. A beautiful message and event for all involved.
