Transcript

Derek Smith:

Hello, and welcome to Baylor Connections, a conversation series with the people shaping our future. Each week we go in depth with Baylor leaders, professors and more discussing important topics in higher education, research and student life. I'm Derek Smith and our guest today is Dr. Kevin Jackson. Dr. Jackson serves as Vice President for Student Life at Baylor. Baylor Student Life seeks to advance the university mission and to enrich students' Baylor experience through life-changing programs and services resulting in an integrated education known for leadership, service, Christian faith and the total development of students. The division he oversees features over 20 departments and offices, serving students holistically in student development, student learning and engagement, spiritual life, student health and wellness, residential living and more. Certainly, a lot of adjustments like us all as we deal with COVID-19. Dr. Jackson, we appreciate your time today. Thanks so much for joining us today.

Kevin Jackson:

You bet, Derek. I'm glad to be here.

Derek Smith:

Well, obviously, you and your staff have had to rapidly adjust the ways you serve the Baylor student body as campus is mostly, although not quite empty. The obvious starting off question is the mission that we just described doesn't change, but the specifics of how you do that do. We'll talk about that on the program, but broadly, how has COVID-19 impacted the ways you live out that mission recently?

Kevin Jackson:

Well, Derek, I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you today and about our students. I'd start by saying the focus of our work is still the same, whether COVID-19 or not, and that's to advance the mission of the university by meeting each student where they are and walking alongside them to help them become more the person that God's designed them to be, so that they can ultimately do the work he's created they have to do. Obviously, with COVID-19, how we meet them, where they are and walk alongside them, the techniques that we use have been impacted. We've taken a step back. We've looked at what are the tools that we have before us that we can use to, again, meet our students where they are and then to help them in this journey that we're on and in that our student body is primarily dispersed at this point, I mean we still have students, and we'll talk about that here in a minute, with us both on campus and in the community. The vast majority of our students are dispersed as we respond to and begin to enter into the recovery from COVID-19. While our students are moved out throughout the country, and in some cases the world, we're using technology-mediated forms of communication such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, social media platforms, text, emails, phone calls, and good old-fashioned cards and letters to stay in touch with our students.

Derek Smith:

Dr. Jackson, you mentioned the student body is obviously dispersed, but there are students on campus. What can you tell us about what the Baylor student body looks like a little more geographically right now?

Kevin Jackson:

Sure, Derek. There are many different scenarios as you have mentioned. We've had students who've returned to their families all across America. We've had other students who've stayed in their apartments or their rental homes here in Waco, some of whom are going back and forth between Waco and their permanent addresses. We've had other students who could not return to their homes for various reasons and are currently residing in our residence halls. Many of these students are international students who couldn't travel internationally due to COVID-19. We have other students in our residence halls that didn't have access to the technology they were going to need in order to continue with their online classes. We have some students who are financially independent. I mean, they're on their own and Waco is home for them and the residence halls are home for them. Then, we had students who really would have been at greater risk to return to home or to return home, a greater risk of exposure, if you will, to the virus. They decided to stay here in Waco and many of those are in our residence halls as well.

Derek Smith:

Well, what do campus services look like for those students who are still on campus, maintaining that safe and caring campus and environment as best you can?

Kevin Jackson:

Sure. Well, for our students who are on campus, we have about just a little over 400 students in our residence halls and these were students that made requests to stay here in the residence halls based on many of the factors I've just mentioned. We were able to accommodate all of those requests. We're providing these residents with oversight of the facilities that they're in. We're doing that through our residence hall staff and through community leaders. Our resident chaplains are still here, so they're reaching out to our on campus students, working with them and their spiritual formation and spiritual support. We have our dining services operations working to provide food within CDC guidelines to our resident students. Our on campus health center is open and providing support, both face to face and from a telehealth standpoint, to not just our on campus students, but students who are in the Waco area and in some cases are not in Waco. They're able to access that support as well.

Derek Smith:

Well, and I know this is under DPS, but as I haven't been to campus a lot in the last month, but I've certainly seen that Baylor PD presence still patrolling the campus and ensuring the safety of those students there as well.

Kevin Jackson:

Oh, you bet. We've got our Baylor Police are working to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff who are also essential workers here on campus, so we have that service. Our counseling center service, it's tele-counseling now our students, so our students who are both in the Waco area and not in the Waco area have access to that as well for their mental health needs.

Derek Smith:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). We're talking with Dr. Kevin Jackson, Baylor Vice President for Student Life. Dr. Jackson, we painted a picture of students geographically a bit here, but what about emotionally or simply logistically? We're going to dive into some of the ways you're meeting those needs, but what are the common themes you're hearing from students as they navigate this disruption?

Kevin Jackson:

Well, another great question. What we're hearing from our students is they're dealing with feelings of isolation, being disconnected from their peers. They're anxious in some cases, certainly "unsettled" would be a word that I hear a lot. It's an amplification of this sense of, "I'm not sure what's going to happen next and what that impact is going to be on me." When you think about it, I mean, that's understandable. I mean, none of us, none of us have ever lived through a global pandemic, so there's a lot of uncertainty and that uncertainty is creating a sense of uneasiness and anxiety among our students.

Derek Smith:

Talking with Dr. Kevin Jackson. Dr. Jackson, professors had to transition to remote classes in short order. Your division had to do that from a different standpoint as well. What were some of the first priorities in determining how to deploy technology or the resources available with the student body dispersing?

Kevin Jackson:

Sure. Our focus on this has been very consistent from day one and that is we have three goals that we are seeking to accomplish. The first is to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and community. That's why we as a university, in many ways, we lead the way on looking at the need to go to an online environment, so that was the primary factor behind it, right? We wanted to make sure that we could protect the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, community. Second goal has been to provide the level of support and resources that our students need to be successful in completing their academic progress at any time, but particularly during the spring semester. That is markedly different than what we had imagined that it would be. Then, the third goal is to support the ongoing business operations of the university. From day one, everything we've been doing as a division has been built around those three goals.

Derek Smith:

Well, let's talk about how some programs in place or adjusted meet those goals. I'll start with Bear Care. What is Bear Care? What's it designed to do and how's it work?

Kevin Jackson:

Sure. Isn't that a great name? I love that, Bear Care.

Derek Smith:

Absolutely.

Kevin Jackson:

Man, that is ... I got to tell ya, I am so excited about the Bear Care program for a number of reasons, not the least of which it is an outward manifestation of the Baylor spirit, right? Here, we have to very quickly make these decisions about moving to an online environment. No sooner than these decisions are being made and then I have staff coming to me and saying, "Hey, we're going to be teleworking and our work's going to change. As we look at making a significant impact on the lives of students, wouldn't it be great if we could create a virtual coaching initiative where staff and faculty could be assigned a cohort of students and could coach and shepherd and mentor that group of students through the rest of the semester into the summer and possibly beyond?"

Kevin Jackson:

That was the beginning of this idea of Bear Care, a virtual coaching program. Derek, I got to tell you, thanks to the great leadership of Sinda Vanderpool, Shera Hines, Megan Becker, Kim Scott, Michelle Cohenour, a whole host of staff who came together, formed this team named themselves Bear Care and then in a very short period of time created a model around which we could reach out to the faculty and staff on this campus and invite them to be a part of this virtual coaching program.

Kevin Jackson:

Today, we have over 330 faculty and staff who are engaged in this initiative. We've assigned 8,800 students to these different coaches. These are students who are being contacted regularly They're being asked how they're doing, "What more can we do for you? How can we help you? Are there resources you need?" You just need somebody to talk to. This is happening as we speak on this program today. Like I said, I'm so excited about this because this is what Baylor University is all about.

Derek Smith:

It sounds like a very proactive thing that the professors are taking a lot of the initiative on for students perhaps eliminate even any barriers they might feel in contacting or in asking questions, which sometimes it's hard for people to do.

Kevin Jackson:

Oh, you bet. I mean, think about this, you're a student. You're 18, 19, 20 years old. You go from being on campus and getting ready for spring break or spring semester and you go from everything is just chugging right along, yes, you've heard of the coronavirus and you're going into spring break and you're getting a week off and you're thinking, "All right, this is great. I can't wait to get back and finish out the semester," and then suddenly you get notified spring break is going to be extended a week while we're looking into this coronavirus and what its potential impacts would be. Then, you hear, "You know what? We're going to have to finish the semester online." I mean, that is a huge change for anyone, particularly students at that age group. We very quickly realize that and very quickly began to mobilize ourselves. Faculty and staff, again, have come together to take on what is really a Herculean undertaking, yet because of our faculty and staff and their dedication to our students in this university, I wouldn't say they've made it look easy, but they've certainly have created this initiative to reach out to students in such short order, that it's almost difficult to comprehend.

Derek Smith:

This is Baylor Connections. We are visiting with Dr. Kevin Jackson, Baylor University's Vice President for Student Life. Dr. Jackson, let's look now at the spiritual growth side of things and the ways Baylor Spiritual Life serves students. What are some of the main focuses? What are some of the main ways Baylor Spiritual Life is focused on reaching students? Say I'm dealing with the spiritual growth concerns or just the concerns students have from that spiritual approach, which I know our faculty do as well, but obviously Spiritual Life, even more of that expertise.

Kevin Jackson:

Sure. Yeah. No, again, great question. We have actually created a ministry plan for the rest of this semester where we're looking at different ways that we can contact students, be in touch with students, be available to students to help encourage their spiritual formation and strengthen their faith. Just some examples of that, currently we have, in the spring semester, right at 4,000 students in chapel. We continue to work with them. We're sending them content in different forms, like videos and online messages that encourage them to be in the scripture and to be in God's word and to meditate on God's word, particularly as it comes to understanding that we serve a sovereign God, he's in control. None of this has taken him by surprise and by keeping ... It's the old adage, what you feed grows, right? You feed fear, fear's going to grow. If you feed your faith, your faith is going to grow. Our Spiritual Life staff are working very hard to help our students meditate on the word and to feed their faith and to understand that our confidence is found through our relationship with God. They're engaged in doing that with over 4,000 students in chapel. At the same time, our staff are working in the residence or through our resident chaplains, both for those students who are on campus and those students who are no longer on campus, to stay in touch with them through these relationships that resident chaplains already had in place. Then, our sports ministry staff has been working closely with our coaching staff and our student athletes. You should know this is a very difficult time for them as well. Their whole season and practices and routines have been disrupted by this, so our sports ministry staff are working closely with our athletic department. Then, our BU Missions team, we have hundreds of students who have either participated in BU missions or were planning to participate. They're reaching out to those students and encouraging their spiritual growth as well.

Derek Smith:

What about when students have a very specific need? You talked about tele-counseling and other ways. I know Baylor has a really fantastic health and wellness staff, counseling center and otherwise.

Kevin Jackson:

Yes.

Derek Smith:

What's that look like?

Kevin Jackson:

We do have an outstanding student health and wellness staff. Our care team has been working round the clock, frankly, and following up with students who are struggling, whether they've contacted us or we have been provided notice through other ways, a faculty member who may have become aware of a student who's struggling or other students who may have a friend who's struggling. We do direct intervention their through our care team.Our counseling center staff very quickly made the adjustment to doing online counseling. They use the WebEx platform. What we're starting to see now is our counseling appointments or our appointments for counselors and students are starting to increase through that platform and students are giving us really good feedback about the accessibility of psychologists and their ability to talk through their challenges and concerns. Our wellness staff has been working really hard to help students through their social media accounts to have access to different workout videos, things you can do at the house or in a home setting to help you stay in shape or to help stretch. Then, again, our health center staff, oh, my goodness. They have been really a tip of the spear along with our Baylor University Police. Our health center staff, they've been leading the way doing COVID-19 testing on students, talking with students who aren't feeling well, helping do assessments to see if they should be tested. They have just been on the very, very front lines of all of this, so I'm very appreciative to all our staff and the work they're doing, especially this dedicated group that we've just talked about.

Derek Smith:

Talking with Dr. Kevin Jackson. Dr. Jackson, so many different areas to talk about, another one being Baylor's campus life, which is second to none in just so many ways. I know student activities and other departments within your division are working to maintain that semblance of campus life, that idea of a unified student body even as we are separated. What are some ways that student activities or others are trying to keep some of these traditions and a semblance of normalcy where we can alive for students while we're off campus?

Kevin Jackson:

Certainly. Here we have such creative staff and student leaders and it's great to see them rally around and with each other, everything from Student Government continues to meet on Thursday night and talk about the needs of our students and come up with ways to meet those needs. We've got a campus election that is occurring. We're about to elect a new student body president and executive and internal vice presidents, as well as senators, so that continues to move forward and do all that online. Then, we have the traditions that we know and love, which make Baylor such a very, very special university, traditions like DIA Del Oso, which will be happening next week. We're going to do that virtually and we have lots of interactive activities for students to go online or go through social media and be a part of. We continue to do Dr Pepper Hour. We had a Facebook Live Dr Pepper Hour yesterday, where President, First Gent, and their daughter showed how to make a Dr Pepper float. People could go online and see that and interact with that, so that's been exciting to see. Instead of doing Stepping Out this year, we're doing Stepping In, which is a way to encourage people in their own locations, whether it be around their home or in their community and obviously within CDC guidelines, to volunteer their time and to step in to helping others. Then, FM72, which is a 72-hour around-the-clock prayer service, is just concluding today and has been done virtually where we had virtual prayer rooms and students coming together and praying for the university, the nation, the world, and again, just round-the-clock prayer. You see these types of traditions, if you will, continuing and students engaging in them virtually. Certainly, it's not the same thing, but it's just, again, an outward representation of who we are as Baylor Bears and those ties that bind us from year to year and generation to generation.

Derek Smith:

Well, you've done a great job here as we head in the final moments, Dr. Jackson, really just enumerating the ways Baylor is, not just trying, but is keeping those services available for students, maintaining that sense of normalcy for them as they adjust to learning remotely, being separated from friends, as you mentioned, and just to know that Baylor support that is there is a great thing. I'm curious, this is a question that we won't, probably any of us, fully be able to answer for a long time, but I'm curious, what are you and your staff learning through all this? What's standing out to you that can lead to positive growth in the future for the ways Baylor serves students and for your staff as they do so?

Kevin Jackson:

That's a great question, Derek, because I think what this has caused us to do is really to understand what it means to be able to quickly pivot. As humans, we have the tendency to become comfortable in the way that we do things, especially when we perceive that they are working well. I think what this has done is it's really caused us to understand how important it is to be open to new ways of approaching our work. I mean, the mission stays the same. It's to advance Baylor University's mission, right? Educate young men and women for worldwide leadership and service through academic excellence, Christian commitment and a caring community. We're learning through this that there are many different ways that that can occur. Some of the technologies that we're using right now to provide these distributed forms of student services, they're going to be technologies that we should continue to think about and use when our students come back to us. This idea of telemedicine and telehealth, I mean, there are students who we can improve our ability to provide services through many of these technologies that we're putting to the test now. I think the other thing it's teaching us is, as much as technology can be helpful, it is a tool and that it does not take the place, cannot take the place of face to face interaction. So much of what we do in our work and impacting students' lives occurs because of those very deep and trusting relationships that we're able to form. In another way, I think it's reminding us of that and we all long for the time that our students can return to campus and we can be there with them, walking alongside them in their journey. I think we're being reminded of that. Then, finally I think we're being reminded that, as people of faith, ultimately God is in control. We can talk about that and we can know about that. I think COVID-19 is teaching us in a real way to know of that. We are living in an environment right now that we have very little control over and it helps us to understand that God is in control. He's sovereign. He's a good God, he loves us. We need to lean into that understanding more and lean upon our faith community more. Those are just a handful of pearls of wisdom, if you will, that I think we're learning. There's going to be a whole lot more learning along the way, there's no doubt, but those are the things that come to mind, Derek.

Derek Smith:

Well, absolutely. Well, very good words. Dr. Jackson, thanks so much for your time today. We really appreciate it.

Kevin Jackson:

Oh, dear. It's my pleasure. Thank you for all that you do, as well.

Derek Smith:

Thank you very much. Dr. Kevin Jackson, Vice President for Student Life at Baylor, our guest today on Baylor Connections. I'm Derek Smith. A reminder, you could hear this and other programs online, baylor.edu/connections. Thanks for joining us here on Baylor Connections.