Dear Jonsson School Alumni,

I hope you and your families are safe and healthy amidst this difficult time. I want to thank you all for your patience as we navigate this new reality and provide some updates from the Jonsson School and The University of Texas at Dallas at this time.

Providing a safe and healthy environment during this time of uncertainty is a top priority of the Jonsson School and of UT Dallas. With that, the Jonsson School will maintain a quality educational experience for all of our students. Below is a breakdown of what the Jonsson School is doing to ensure this:

• All classes moved to an online platform on March 30, 2020, and virtual instruction will continue the remainder of the semester. Faculty and staff members within each school are working closely with their deans and the provost to ensure this smooth transition to online classes.
• All summer classes will be conducted online. This decision was made due to stay-at-home recommendations that are expected to remain in place for quite some time.
• All campus events have been canceled, virtualized or postponed until further notice as a social distancing measure. The Jonsson School development team will connect with you regarding any updates on a case-by-case basis.

Supporting our students is a common concern we’ve heard across the Jonsson School community. In response to the rapidly changing situation, the University created the UT Dallas Student Emergency Fund to address the most urgent needs of our student population. Since the fund was established just a few weeks ago, we have received nearly 800 applications for aid. Our Division of Student Affairs is working to allocate the funds, with the majority of the dollars providing food, rent and utilities assistance.

We recently learned that federal assistance is forthcoming and will help students with additional needs associated with their educations. Until that funding is available to our community, philanthropic support is bridging the gap and sustaining UT Dallas students during this uncertain time. On behalf of the Jonsson School, we invite you to help a Comet in need. For more information regarding UT Dallas’ response to COVID-19, please click here.

As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me during this time of confusion. Each of you are very valuable to the Jonsson School and the University as a whole. As Comets, we will get through this time and we will be stronger because of it.

Together, though apart, we will continue to make a lasting change in the lives of students through social impact and education here at UT Dallas.

Sincerely,

Stephanie G. Adams, Ph.D. F. ASEE
Dean and Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair
President, American Society of Engineering Education
Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science