As members of the TWU community settle into a “new normal” of self-isolation, social distancing and “stay at home” restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, Chancellor Carine M. Feyten recounted in a university-wide email a conversation that included the adage, “It’s at times like these that you really see what people are made of.”

So, what is the Texas Woman’s community made of? We call ourselves the Pioneers, which evokes images of early settlers meeting the challenges of a new frontier.

Well, that frontier became a freeway long ago, and modern conveniences have enabled us to communicate across continents in seconds and even cook a meal in an instant. The life of a modern-day pioneer is, in many ways, a lot easier than that of the early settlers. How would we react to a global pandemic?

What are we made of?

As we have found, we’re made of staff members who shifted gears, looking at the self-isolation as an opportunity to build systems or develop programming they always imagined would benefit our students. Others looked out for homebound students and colleagues alike by offering resources online, including a coronavirus website that provides the latest information on the university’s response to the pandemic.

We’re made of faculty who adapted their courses and, with staff support, migrated their face-to-face classes to an online format to continue educating our students in the safest way possible, given the circumstances. They helped their community as well, whether sewing face masks for elderly neighbors or spearheading an effort to purchase and deliver personal protection equipment to medical facilities.

We’re made of university leadership and emergency management teams that meet daily (by virtual means) to ensure a coordinated response to an ever-changing situation.

We’ll be featuring some of these stories in future issues of Inside TWU, via social media and more. This week’s issue features stories on a nursing professor’s efforts to raise money to purchase desperately needed medical supplies for doctors and nurses at North Texas hospitals; a million-dollar grant program to aid women’s businesses hurt by COVID-19; advice on maintaining health and wellbeing at home; and TWU clinics offering clients free teletherapy sessions in place of in-person appointments.

If you know of TWU faculty, staff and students who have risen to the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, please let us know at twunews@twu.edu.