It’s been an interesting month to say the least! First, my spring break adventures consisted of experiences in Argentina and Uruguay as faculty advisor as part of a Babson off-shore course. I was there with 17 Babson students and another professor learning about the economy of South America.

Babson offers these international elective courses in Europe, Latin America and Africa. All courses provide an intensive classroom experience prior to travel and combine that with ‘in country’ guest lectures, company site visits and rich cultural experiences. Off Shore Courses are offered during winter and spring breaks and the summer term.

Shortly after spring break, we had the norovirus outbreak. It was a very abnormal week, but the support and effort by many both on and off campus was outstanding. I’m sure you have seen many of the reports in the media with great interest. Dean of Student Affairs Betsy Newman and I were on campus through the entire process spearheading the “recovery” efforts.

The amount of sanitizing that occurred was extraordinary. While we continued to see a steady decline in reports of illness from the norovirus trickle down to no reports last week, the cleaning and sanitizing protocols are ongoing. All of these procedures will continue through the next couple weeks and likely thru the semester. We also continue to encourage everyone on campus to keep up these new routines of personal cleanliness.

I have been walking around campus a lot in the last couple weeks, talking to students and checking on things. The mood is incredibly positive and things surely have returned to normal. There continues to be a lot happening on campus (this past weekend was Spring Weekend) leading up to Commencement …already just a few weeks away.