Guest Post by Ruth M. Alexander, Professor Emerita, Colorado State University

Despite being affected in countless different ways, it’s safe to say that the pandemic had a monumental impact on all of us. For students and faculty in higher education, the pandemic increased stress levels and feelings of uncertainty, which compounded learning disruptions and impacted other aspects of mental and physical health.  But not all the impacts were negative. The pandemic demanded increased collaboration and innovation among the entire CSU community.

These impacts were evidenced in a Covid-19 Oral History Project called “Ram Stories” led by professors at Colorado State University. The project began in 2022 with the goal to capture and document the stories and experiences of students and staff during the pandemic. It was led by Dr. Ruth Alexander, Mark Shelstad, and three History students. Over the course of the project, they conducted nearly 80 interviews with undergraduate and graduate students at CSU about their Covid-19 experiences. Dr. Alexander also interviewed 18 administrative leaders and scientists about their efforts to minimize the harm of the pandemic to people within and far beyond the CSU community. Student researcher Jade Felthoven created a Story Map for the project which shows where students were located across the country during the first months of the pandemic and highlights their reflections about living in a world reshaped by Covid-19.

Everyone interviewed had important lessons to share about the real and potential harms of Covid-19, as well as constructive ideas for how best to respond to the current and future pandemics. Below, we share snippets of some of their stories and experiences.

Covid-19 came to campus. Leadership came together to help students navigate the new world.

In late-February 2020 CSU President Joyce McConnell formed a Pandemic Preparedness Team (PPT). The team was tasked with leading the university’s response to the potentially devastating disease. Marc Baker, co-chair of the PPT, said President McConnell was determined to prioritize scientific data and use a value-based model to sustain the university’s commitments to transparency in leadership and excellence in teaching, research, and outreach.

The PPT met daily for months, moving online as CSU shut down in March. The PPT worked to make the shift to online learning as successful as possible for students and faculty while also monitoring public health data, facilitating CSU scientists’ pivot to Covid-19 research and testing, and planning a re-opening of campus in fall 2020.

Good communication was critical and central to the PPT’s work. Elizabeth Williams, Professor of Organizational and Health Communication, led efforts to survey student opinions and behaviors. Her goal was to figure out “what was actually possible to expect students to do.” She also had to establish viable “social norms” around testing and social distancing on campus. Ann Claycomb, the PPT communications lead, knew it was crucial for the campus community to hear directly and frequently from the CSU President. So, she made sure that President McConnell regularly emailed “affective and positive messages” to the campus community.

CSU scientists rolled up their sleeves to help respond to the pandemic across campus, across Colorado, and beyond.

Scientists at CSU played a critical role in helping lead Covid-19 research. Heather Pidcoke, CSU’s Chief Medical Officer, and Alan Rudolph, the Vice President for Research, led and facilitated these scientists’ innovative work:

• Professor Mark Zabel developed a way to detect Covid-19 in saliva. This allowed the university to administer thousands of tests to students, faculty, and staff as campus reopened in the summer of 2020, before the vaccine was available.

• Simultaneously, Professors Carol Wilusz and Susan DeLong led a wastewater monitoring effort that made it possible for CSU and water districts across the state to detect spikes in SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater. This gave public health officials the data they needed to be able to initiate quarantines and limit disease outbreaks.

• Professor Nicole Ehrhart led a program to test for Covid-19 in assisted living facilities across Colorado and reduce the spread of infection among vulnerable elderly residents.

• Other scientists including Gregg Dean, Ray Goodrich, and Isabela Ragan conducted research on potential Covid-19 vaccines.

All these scientists saw how Covid-19 unleashed extraordinary collaborations across science, government, and public health. According to Ehrhart, “People came out of the woodwork; they came with funding, and they came [saying] ‘Well, let us help.’”

Despite overwhelming challenges, students showed remarkable resilience.

CSU students experienced myriad impacts from the pandemic: the sudden closure of campus and difficult shift to remote learning, food insecurity, social isolation, mental health problems, new and troubling family dynamics, the death of beloved relatives, heightened racism, and deepening political polarization. Student Corinne Neustader remembered “this overwhelming sense of stress and chaos” in 2020. Yet, CSU students also showed remarkable resilience and growth. Student Sarah Myers, who uses art and writing as a stress coping mechanism, saw her writing skills blossom during the pandemic. Others used the time alone to think about their careers, some shifting paths because they had time to reflect and ponder their passions. Students also demonstrated an appreciation for their school’s leadership and innovation during the pandemic. As Caleb Jones remarked, “The groundwater inspection, being able to shut down specific dorms and then… requiring both the proof of vaccine and a negative test to come back to school, I think that was all crucial in their overall control of the virus and the continuation of real life, essentially.”

A tumultuous period uncovered many important lessons for the future.

The CSU Covid-19 Oral History Project highlighted important insights into the human condition and our remarkable ability to come together to solve problems and persist in the face of great struggles. For those in the higher education community, the pandemic taught the importance of prioritizing fact-based, scientific, and clear communication, not only with students but also with the public and policymakers. Unfortunately, the pandemic was often politicized, which caused stark polarization and often resulted in a downplay of the seriousness of our situation. In some cases, this had real-world consequences for people’s health and lives. As Dr. Ray Goodrich puts it, “People use arguments for their own political benefit without thinking about the long-term impact that these policies or practices may have on our communities and societies.” That’s why it’s critical to continue the momentum that started during the pandemic to cultivate collaborative systems that allow us to anticipate and prepare for future public health crises. And that’s also why it’s important for everyone—in higher education, the scientific community, and beyond—to prioritize being transparent about what we know and what we don’t, proactive and honest in our communication, and sympathetic to peoples’ differing levels of education and their fears and skepticism; only then will we be able to foster trust.

Read more about the Ram Stories project and listen to the interviews.

Immunize Colorado was formed in 1991 in response to alarmingly low vaccination rates across the state. At the time, only about 50% of Colorado’s children were adequately vaccinated. A group of physicians and other concerned individuals came together to strategize how to protect Coloradans from vaccine-preventable diseases and increase vaccine uptake. Much work remains. Discover ways to support our commitment to healthy Colorado communities at our website or make a donation today!