St. Finian Lobhar
March 16th, 2020
Dear Thomas More College Community,
It is with great sadness that I must announce our intention to suspend “in-person” instruction and move towards a temporary closure of our campus in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
As my letter of March 14th indicated, it had been our intention to continue the full operations of the campus. I outlined in that letter the reasons for confidence in and commitment to our small, residential form of education. Our hand, however, has been forced in this matter. Or perhaps it is fairer to say that those duly authorized with responsibility for the public good and public health have established guidelines and orders that now make normal operations impossible. The College recognizes the necessity of vigilance and will comply.
A brief review of the key developments over the last two days is appropriate.
Going into the weekend, Thomas More College was already alone in being the only institution of higher education maintaining its residential college and normal modes of instruction within the State of New Hampshire. We are cognizant of the fact that all of our peers throughout the country have already closed, moved to online instruction, or dramatically curtailed the length of term and conditions of operations—some did so weeks ago, as there are differing needs and concerns depending on location and scale. In our case, the small and cohesive nature of our program has allowed us to maintain operations without much disruption until the government restrictions of this past weekend.
On Sunday, March 15th, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked that gatherings and activities be limited to 50 or fewer participants, and that events of even this nature were to be rare. Later that day, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed an executive order closing all schools within the State of New Hampshire and by phone conference asked for the cooperation of all private and religious schools still open at that time.
By the evening of the 15th, the Governor of Massachusetts had authorized that only gatherings of 25 or fewer persons be permitted, and these rare. Although our bishop, his Excellency Rev. Peter Libasci, has stated he hopes to keep churches open, all surrounding dioceses have already placed restrictions on corporate worship and Catholic gatherings. His Eminence Cardinal Sean O’Malley has suspended all liturgy and Masses in the Archdiocese of Boston. This has caused the movement of non-locals into the area for the sake of the Mass—a beautiful thing, but one which has caused increased fear among some.
After intense discussion and review, the College has determined to suspend “in person instruction” after its Tuesday, March 17th classes. After that date, Students are asked to return home or to safe “shelter-in” locations as soon as possible, and not later than by Thursday, March 19th, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph. The College will, of course, support students with travel difficulties and delays on a case-by-case basis.
The College hopes to return to normal, “in-person” education after the Easter holiday, and has set Wednesday, April 15th as the return date. The Thomas More College COVID-19 Committee will continue to assess the situation and inform the Collegiate Community of any modification or change.
Remote instruction will begin on Monday, March 23rd. We are asking all students on campus to take home with them all books and resources for continuing their courses. The Department of Education has granted broad latitude regarding modes of distance instruction. Thomas More College guarantees that all student work undertaken remotely will remain part of our full accreditation and duly recognized.
Students who are already at home should contact Dean Kitzinger as soon as possible. We will make arrangements for sending home to you essential items needed for study.
Please be aware that the College website has a page dedicated to COVID-19. Important information and resources are available there and will be updated.
I would ask that all recipients of this communication continue the 40 days of prayer under the protection and patronage of Mary the Mother of God and of St. George.
I would like to salute all our students for their composure and spirit in the face of this difficulty; and I would like to extend a special note of gratitude to my colleagues, especially the Dean Jay Thompson, the Dean of Students Denis Kitzinger, the Executive Vice President Paul Jackson, the Director of the Business Office Pam Bernstein, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustee Michael Gilleran, and the Assistant Director of Communication Dominic Cassella, all of whom have worked without a break for nearly two weeks to monitor and communicate this information, and especially to see to the safety of our students and staff.
Again, I ask for the patience and understanding of all who receive this message. This decision was not taken lightly, nor quickly embraced. The situation remains complex and dynamic. The nature of the disease is still mysterious, and the country is gripped with anxiety and fear. At times, our own public leaders seem to contradict themselves and even be unsure of the right course. This is a grave hour, but one in which St. Thomas More himself provides us with good counsel. We must remain at the same time prudent and mirthful, cautious and charitable. We must remember his words, written long ago, in the Utopia:
“You must not abandon the ship in a storm because you cannot control the winds….What you cannot turn to good, you must at least make as little bad as you can.”
I would ask that everyone govern themselves by this principle: Regardless of the situation we remain one College, we conduct ourselves as members of the Thomas More College community—on the campus, at home, and abroad. And we trust that by commending our purpose to God, under the special patronage and protection of Mary the Mother of God and St. George, we will in the end prevail.
In Christo Rege,
William Edmund Fahey, Ph.D.
Fellow & President
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
For further reading:
President Fahey Gives Video Address about TMC and COVID-19 Crisis
