When 农夫导航 had to make the difficult decision to ask students to leave
the residence halls as a precaution against the threat of coronavirus, Debbie Fox,
director of Bellarmine鈥檚 Office of Public Safety, had an immediate idea.
鈥淲e can help get those students home,鈥 she said.
Fox鈥檚 department announced that any student who needed a ride to their permanent residence anywhere in a two-hour radius could hop aboard one of the three shuttles that usually transports students around campus. Bellarmine鈥檚 public safety team also offered to take anyone who remained in residence halls last week to Kroger or the pharmacy.
The service was an example of the countless ways the university has met the coronavirus crisis with a sense of service. Nearly every unit has stepped up in its own way. The School of Continuing and Professional Studies offered shopping services to its Veritas group, which consists of learners over age 54 in the Louisville area. Bellarmine's Alumni Association collected emergency funds and messages of encouragement from alumni to current students. The College of Health Professions donated an inventory of personal protective equipment to front-line healthcare workers.
鈥淎t Bellarmine there really is a community, family spirit here,鈥 Fox said. 鈥淵ou have amazing people here who step up and say 鈥業鈥檝e got that.鈥欌 It鈥檚 the Bellarmine way.鈥
On March 23, dozens of staff and faculty members and even Bellarmine鈥檚 president, Dr. Susan M. Donovan, and her cabinet, began calling every single Bellarmine student to check on their wellbeing and any needs they may have.
With registration for the summer and fall semester underway, 鈥渨e would be touching base with students this time of year anyway,鈥 said Dr. Elizabeth Cassady, associate dean of Academic Services and co-chair of the Student Success Task Force. 鈥淎t any time of transition, we know that some students are going to struggle.鈥
Worries about the coronavirus pandemic and the fact that they aren鈥檛 on campus may
add to that anxiety, she said. 鈥淪tudents are happy to hear from us. They are used
to being able to just stop by and get a warm answer to their questions. This is simulating
that.鈥
Public Safety ended up fielding several requests for trips home in the Louisville
area, plus two students who asked for rides to the airport before flying back home
to California. The students, a junior and a sophomore, were on the same flight. Sharon
Oster, the transport supervisor, drove them.
鈥淪he wanted to do that,鈥 Fox said. 鈥淭hey were very grateful. We said 鈥榯ake care of
each other and call us when you get there,鈥 you know, just like a mom would.鈥
Fox said they set up each shuttle, which have several benches, for social distancing
with students sitting six feet apart.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been intentional about what we鈥檙e doing,鈥 she said.
The Bellarmine Difference
Staff and faculty said Bellarmine鈥檚 sense of service isn鈥檛 limited to times of crisis,
but is woven into the fabric of the university鈥檚 identity.
For example, Fox said the offer to give rides home is indicative of the relationship
Public Safety has with the campus community on a regular basis. The unit covers general
functions of campus security and transportation but also goes above and beyond for
individuals, as they need it.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not sworn officers, so we鈥檙e not police,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e more like ambassadors
for the university. We do all kinds of things. 鈥 We鈥檙e always looking for ways to
step up to serve the community.鈥
That includes giving students escorts or rides on campus past 10:30 p.m., when the
shuttle service ends, whenever they鈥檙e requested. In the past, they鈥檝e made pickups
at the airport for students moving to campus.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the Bellarmine environment; it鈥檚 all about hospitality,鈥 Fox said. 鈥淎nd we balance between hospitality and safety.鈥