Our response to the coronavirus pandemic
A letter from Elizabeth Dearborn Hughes, CEO and Co-Founder
**Updated March 16
Rwanda has its first case of coronavirus and the government has closed all schools for at least two weeks beginning March 16. We are grateful the Rwandan government is taking a proactive stance. This is the right decision.
Our team has already been planning for this. We’ll share more soon about how we will continue learning and student support during the closure.
Over the last few years, we’ve made big investments in our blended learning model and technology so we are confident that we are in a good place to minimize academic disruption even while students can’t be on campus.
We have postponed our Decennial Gala in New York City from May until September to reduce the risk of exposure for our community and support New York’s containment objectives.
All of our US-based staff are working from home, just as our Hong Kong team has been doing for the past six weeks.
We are taking this very seriously. The only effective way to prevent the spread of the virus is to practice social distancing. In other words, stay home as much as possible.
Wash your hands constantly.
We will continue to share updates about the virus in East Africa and our academic plans.
This is a frightening and uncertain time globally, we are just beginning to witness the health and economic damage to countless countries and families.
The strength and love within this community is powerful. I know that we will navigate this crisis with creativity and compassion, just like we have done in the face of unexpected challenges in the past.
Let’s treat one another with exceptional kindness. Ask how you can help one of your classmates or colleagues. I know we will emerge from this stronger than before.
— — -
March 12
To our global community, supporters, and students:
In light of the Coronavirus outbreak, we have made the difficult decision to postpone our May Decennial Gala in New York City until September 12 in order to reduce the risk of exposure for our community and support New York’s containment objectives.
All US-based staff will work from home until further notice, as our Hong Kong team has been doing for the past six weeks. We encourage them to practice social distancing in order to reduce the spread of the virus, and hopefully lessen the potentially huge burden on the healthcare system.
The health of our students is of paramount importance. Although there are no documented cases in Rwanda, we were saddened by today’s report of the first case in Kenya. We are complying with the Rwandan government’s ban on gatherings of more than 50 people and respect their proactive stance on preventing transmission.
Our academic team is preparing a plan for students to complete the school year in case of a temporary closure of our Kigali campus. We hope this planning proves unnecessary, but we will do everything we can to ensure as little disruption to our students’ learning as possible.
Although the pandemic has escalated globally this week, we have been experiencing the impact in Hong Kong since schools and offices closed in January. The swift and stringent action taken by the HK government to mitigate the spread of the virus has successfully resulted in a slowdown of transmissions. As has become evident in Hong Kong and other countries, extreme social distancing is proving to be the most effective measure against widespread transmission.
The launch of Davis College and our ambitious plan for scaling our model of affordable, market relevant higher education was a critical moment in our institutional evolution. Our Decennial Campaign was intended to provide the funding to support this growth and reach financial self-sufficiency.
‘Radical Transparency’ is one of our culture principles, and we strive to share our accomplishments as well as challenges. 60% of our annual budget is made up of donations from individuals and family foundations, and 40% from tuition. The postponement of the Decennial Gala, the cancellation of other fundraising events and the tumultuous economy is having a painful impact on our financial goals. This is one of our biggest challenges to date.
This year, more than 11,000 students have applied to Davis College and Akilah Rwanda; 1,500 of them will join our community this summer.
We need your support, now more than ever. A monthly gift of $50 or $100 makes it possible for us to enroll our new class in Rwanda while continuing to provide a life-changing education to thousands of students.
We believe in the strength of our community and ask that you stand beside us in our unwavering commitment to impacting one million young women and men over the coming decade.
Join us on social for regular updates.
Twitter: Akilah and Davis College
Instagram: Akilah and Davis College
Facebook: Akilah and Davis College
As the situation continues to evolve, I will share more about our response to the virus and developments at Davis College and Akilah.
With gratitude,
Elizabeth