In his annual holiday greeting to the Brock community, University President Gervan Fearon is sounding a note of support and encouragement for faculty, staff and students as they wrap up a year they won’t soon forget.

A core theme in the President’s message is reminding people to “take that moment to rejuvenate” after “the incredible year that we’ve been through.”

The close of 2020 sees a world vastly different from how the year started. In the nine months since the coronavirus swept the globe, ushering in deadly health threats and dramatically changing how people work, study, shop and live, the Brock community has responded by developing bold innovations to normal operations, adjustments that have enabled the University to continue to function in an era of unprecedented challenges.

As the Brock community has adjusted to a world of online classes, virtual Convocation ceremonies, meeting through video conference calls, and limits on access to campus, University officials have acknowledged that dealing with such massive change has taken a toll, and as a result Brock is extending its holiday break over the Christmas-New Year’s period.

“Over the holidays, it’s your time to focus on you,” Fearon says in his year-end message.