Dean's message: Reflections on a pandemic year
One year ago today, UCLA announced its transition to remote work and instruction in response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic. With that abrupt, unexpected shift, all of our lives were turned upside down and forever changed.
What was impossible to imagine then—mandatory face masks, physical distancing, back-to-back Zoom meetings, an indistinguishable melding of home, study, and work life—has since become routine.
As Chancellor Block reflects on this solemn milestone in his message to the UCLA community today, this has been a year marked by many challenges: unthinkable loss, isolation and anxiety, economic instability, racist violence, ethnic hostility, and social and political turmoil, including an armed insurrection at our nation’s capital.
It is an understatement to say that this year has tested us. Twelve months in, the stress, anxiety, and exhaustion are palpable and undeniable.
One of the great challenges of this moment is that it is affecting each of us so differently. Many of us are privileged to have environments conducive to learning and teaching, jobs that can be done safely and effectively from home, access to the technology and infrastructure that we need, and support from family and friends. But, for many others, these resources, support, and security have not been readily available, further compounding the extraordinary difficulty of this past year.
So, as we mark this moment, I want to recognize and celebrate the courage, strength, creativity, and resilience that our community continues to demonstrate, acknowledge the profound inequities that persist, and reiterate our commitment to working together to overcome them.
As we observe this undeniable loss—more than 500,000 lives taken by the pandemic in the United States alone—family, friends, colleagues, neighbors—there is understandable urgency to recover some semblance of ‘normalcy,’ to return to how things were. We see many signs of that return: vaccine distribution is increasing, schools, including our own, are beginning to reopen, and federal economic relief will hopefully continue.
I would like to be so bold, however, as to invite us to engage this moment differently. As scholars, artists, architects, creators, and contributors of all kinds, I believe our responsibility is to imagine a better future. As individuals, as a community, as a society, what do we carry forward and change in this next moment? How do we learn from this tragedy and craft a better personal practice, a stronger community, and a more just society?
This is the painful opportunity that this moment has afforded us.
I hope that we use this time to dream together of a better world. I believe art is central to envisioning that world. Our work matters and is necessary to create the changes we want to see.
Thank you for the sacrifices you’ve made this past year. With determination and collaboration, we will continue together.
—Brett Steele, Dean
P.S. For anyone who is struggling and in need of support, you are not alone. Please make use of the extensive resources UCLA has available for students and staff and faculty.
Stay engaged. Use #UCLAarts to stay connected.
