A message from Dean Heidi Chumley to the AUC Community:
I want to thank all of you who have submitted responses and questions regarding AUC’s plan to resume classes in Sint Maarten in January. Our leaders and faculty have continued to review your questions and work on providing you with additional clarification or detail.
An issue of importance to all of us is the status of the recovery in Sint Maarten and the island’s readiness to welcome the medical school’s return. In the weeks since Hurricane Irma, we have been monitoring the situation in Sint Maarten with the assistance of experts who have been assessing the island’s basic infrastructure (electricity, water, Internet, etc), local business continuity, safety and security, housing, and more. I visited Sint Maarten last week and had the opportunity to assess the campus and ongoing repairs and tour surrounding areas. I observed many encouraging signs of recovery, though there are areas where the rebuilding will take significant time.
After the hurricane, the Sint Maarten government established a workgroup focused on developing a National Recovery Plan for the reconstruction and recovery of Sint Maarten, with the guiding principle of “Build Back Better.” AUC, as a key member of the Sint Maarten community, has been involved in the workgroup’s efforts. The workgroup’s interim report has been posted online for public viewing here.
I know some of you have concerns about returning to Sint Maarten to continue your medical education in January. There are many logistics to work out and finalize to prepare for AUC’s planed return. Therefore I am in the process of forming a comprehensive relocation task force to address safety concerns and promote student success. This task force, which I will co-chair along with Mr. Hazarie Ramoutar, Senior Administrator for Campus Operations, will bring together leaders and experts from key areas, including facilities, housing, safety and security, immigration, and financial aid, among others. The group will have representation from AUC’s leadership and functional leaders, current students, and alumni, and we will evolve the membership and participation according to our needs in order to foster a successful return to Sint Maarten.
My plan is to have this group in place to begin its work early next week. We will report key outcomes and actions to the AUC community in continuance of our ongoing communication with you regarding AUC’s present and future.
We are also planning to begin weekly Facebook Live events that will enable you to get a view of the progress being made in Sint Maarten, and the work still to be done. We expect to begin these next week. Please be sure to like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aucmed so that you are alerted to these events.
We will also continue to field your questions and provide updated FAQ material to you. Your student leaders have been instrumental in representing your concerns and questions to AUC’s leadership, and I’m grateful for their continued dedication and commitment of time. Please continue to submit your questions to AUCNews@aucmed.edu and we will do our best to address them as information becomes available.
Sincerely,
Heidi Chumley, MD, MBA
Executive Dean
Professor, Behavioral and Clinical Medicine
American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine
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January 2018 Semester Update and Relocation Task Force
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