Q: When you began your roles as acting co-presidents on July 1, 2020, what was your top priority?

RGM
It’s the same priority we’ve always had, which is to serve our students as best we can. That’s the purpose of the college.

ME
Our goal was to leave the college healthy and whole for the 14th president. We were concerned about having a fractured community in a remote world, keeping people invested and committed during a time where there was very little certainty. We stayed student and academically mission-focused. I don’t want it to be lost on the community that Robert and I had less than 48-hours notice about this. And so, we had the goal of collectively wrapping our heads around leading an institution during a pandemic without much notice and with no playbook.

Q: When the pandemic hit, Colorado College moved quickly to make changes to keep students safe while ensuring that students could continue their studies. How did you approach this challenge?

ME
We had to approach it from the vantage point of knowing that we didn’t know. And so, we had to utilize the best minds that we had on campus and create some great partnerships with UC Health, Optum Health, and the El Paso County Health Department. We were certainly not above asking for help, and I want to acknowledge and thank our Scientific Advisory Group.

RGM
We decided to be guided by science and comply with the changing rules from the nation, the state, and the county. We frequently had to adjust our plans as the guidance changed. We expanded the size of the Cabinet and met every week. A good portion of each meeting was devoted to COVID.

Q. COVID-19 presented an incredible challenge to institutions of higher education. What were two or three of the most pressing issues that you focused on during the first months of the pandemic?

RGM
The real crisis was Block 1 when our students ended up quarantined in large residence halls. Volunteers were helping to suit up and distribute food. When we had to send students home, it was a huge challenge to figure out who needed to stay and who was housing insecure and couldn’t go home. There were hotspots around the country, and some parents said, ‘I want my kid home, but could they not come right now because the outbreak where we live is terrible.’ Then there was the financial challenge. Hundreds of our students decided to take a gap year, and there was a resulting revenue loss. We decided early on to do our best to ensure that no employee was furloughed or laid off. I don’t think we understood how hard it would be to achieve that. We relied on remaining staff when we left positions vacant, and everybody ended up contributing to that goal. I think it created a sense of community.

ME
We were trying to be equitable, flexible, responsive, and supportive, all while there were other crises going on: George Floyd, the defund the police movement, and the political climate. There was no luxury of being able to focus solely on COVID. We had to focus on the academic mission of the college during a time where it was just turbulent. Our students were resilient, wonderful, gracious, and understanding. A first-year student set up a Zoom to let Robert and me know that although he was quarantined, he was still learning. Our faculty was tremendous. We often heard from students and parents that remote learning was not what they had envisioned, but by and large, they said this is good. You see that in our numbers: Retention rates are high, and attrition is low.

Q: How did you find meaningful ways to engage with faculty, staff (including your direct reports), and students despite the challenges of face-to-face communication?

ME
We did a ton of Zoom. We met with every department on campus so people could see us and get to know us. We continued to celebrate, hosting Zoom dinners with new faculty, recently tenured faculty, and athletic teams. We used Zoom not only to transact operationally but also to keep relationships strong. We also had blockly video conversations that were shared with the community.

RGM
The community needed to hear from us and from the other people on campus who really knew what was happening. I don’t know how many town halls we hosted, but it was a lot.

Q. How did the job of Colorado College president change to accommodate two individuals sharing the role?

RGM
Mike and I had worked together for 12 years and knew each other well. That allowed us to share and rely on each other’s strengths. When we had to make the hard decisions, like whether to send students home, we talked. I agree with Mike; what we heard from parents and students is educationally there was a lot of learning going on, even though it was in a different format.

ME
It’s a myth that there’s one person in the president’s role. The reality is any president at this college has benefited from the wisdom of staff, faculty, and students. What was different is that there were two people sharing the title of president. With the added layer of COVID, it would have been hard for one person to be everywhere they needed to be. Robert and I talked at least once a day, and we made no significant decision without consulting the other. The way CC approaches time helped. As difficult as it was to have to rethink every 18 and a half days, the Block Plan was a structural blessing because it gave us the chance to talk about it in terms of this is Block 1, this is Block 2, let’s get to block break.

Q: What are some of the highlights of your time as acting co-president? What will you remember most about this time?

ME
The winter graduate celebration will go down as one of my top memories after 30 years at the college. That was one of the most intimate, engaging, and moving ceremonies, and it was virtual. I had the ability to learn from other college presidents. One college president told her staff that if you need to walk away on a particular day, you could do that. I remember working with Robert to establish time off here to underscore the importance of self-care. I hope as we come out of COVID that CC does not return to its push-through culture.

RGM
The in-person Commencements and the sheer joy that the graduates had in both classes. It’s amazing that for the 2020 Commencement ceremony, some 370 graduates returned to be together. Sitting on the stage and seeing them together made the whole year worthwhile.

Q. What were your favorite parts of being acting co-president?

RGM
We had a group of faculty who agreed to serve as academic advisors. Once a week, we spent an hour on Zoom. Their advice and counsel turned out to be pretty special.

ME
I can never thank our students enough for sincerely and wholeheartedly caring about one another. They established the Colorado College Mutual Aid Fund to help one another, which has been incredible.