We live in unprecedented times, facing the COVID-19 challenge. This is a challenge with exponentially changing circumstances. These are not the exponential changes brought in by technological advances, most of which benefit the world in a positive way. Rather, they are driven by the dynamics of the contagion, and affect all of us here and everywhere in the world, adversely.
 
Fortunately, we know how to combat this contagion. And while we follow the practice of social distancing, we are more than ever before socially connected, through the marvel of the internet and its myriad technologies. 

As we navigate these turbulent waters, we at USC Viterbi are keeping in mind our enduring mission, which is to educate students, and to lead in thought and innovation. We also know that how we react in today's times of uncertainty and exponential change will test our values, our commitment, and our resolve.

We should continue and enhance being supportive and caring for each other, understanding that some in our community need more help than others, and are making every effort to be generous in spirit and in practice. This applies particularly to our students, including those who will remain on campus, and to the large fraction of our international students. They need our strength, our outreach and our embrace and we will ensure they have what they need during this crisis.

Our thoughts also turn to you, and to your families. Unlike regional disasters, such as an earthquake, that only affect some, we are all affected equally today, wherever we may be. USC Viterbi stands together with you as we face this challenge. To that end, we have COVID-19 updates specifically for the Viterbi community here, while university updates on COVID-19 are here. For our alumni, our online alumni career services continue to be available (found here) and we are working to create more virtual programming for our alumni network. We look forward to providing updates on this endeavor in the near future. 

A crisis offers the opportunity to innovate and re-invent. We aim to grasp this opportunity to help inspire our students, current, past and future, to help work together in our mission to engineer a better world for all humanity, a goal that is more urgent than ever before.  

If there is anything we can do for you, please do not hesitate to reach out at viterbi.extrel@vsoe.usc.edu.  

With our warmest wishes for the health and wellness of your family and your community.

Sincerely,,

Yannis C. Yortsos
Dean, USC Viterbi School of Engineering