Member Stories, COVID-19 Pandemic: Stephanie Hicks

“I think this process will be a magnifying glass for so many professional relationships on campus”

Stephanie Hicks is a Lecturer IV in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts on the Ann Arbor Campus.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Who are you? What classes do you teach? At which campus?

I'm Stephanie Hicks, a Lec IV in the Program on Intergroup Relations at U-M Ann Arbor. It's a social justice education program that's a part of LSA Undergrad Education, and Student Life. I teach courses that train and support undergrads in leading for-credit semester-long dialogues on race, gender, class, sexual orientation, and a host of other social identities. I also coordinate IGRs involvement in LSAs Race & Ethnicity Requirement Engagement Initiative, which means I work with faculty who want to engage dialogic pedagogy into their R&E courses.

What has been your experience with transitioning to online instruction during the COVID-19 crisis?

I'm new to teaching online, so it's been challenging. But having some guiding principles of generosity, flexibility and compassion among others in our program has been great. It's a reminder to hold those things at the forefront of our minds when interacting with students, and ourselves. Concretely, it's looked like lots of virtual meetings with small groups of students, figuring out what's the most important knowledge students should gain from my courses, and adjusting assignments and communication accordingly.

How has the university wide-transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted you personally?

I'm at home a lot more these days, obviously :) I think a lot about how we now have an intimate view into each other’s lives, literally. And while it's a challenging transition for me, I find myself way more concerned about students who rely on the university for their livelihood, and the impact that's had on them. I think about that outside of my work time.

What have you learned in this process that you’d like to share with others?

I don't think I just realized this as a result of this transition, but it’s been reinforced: those we work with are incredibly important. How we interact, how we support each other, how we both recognize struggle, and look beyond it together, is crucial. I think this process will be a magnifying glass for so many professional relationships on campus, and I hope people are using this time to think about what's working well, and what isn't, and how to make it better now and on the other side of this.

If you are a LEO member who would like to share your story publicly during this major transition period, please fill out this questionnaire: https://forms.gle/D4tP75CPZ5oXsvLdA