Throughout my over 40 years as an optometrist, educator, administrative leader, and certainly as the founding President of Marshall B. Ketchum University, I have always tried to put myself in the shoes of others – particularly those members of this community for whom I feel responsible – as it has usually allowed me to more deeply understand their needs, and hopefully, rise to meet them. This has been especially true during the COVID-19 global pandemic as I have attempted to see the world and the conditions of the University from the perspective of our employees and students.
And when I took moments to step into the shoes of MBKU’s community this March, as we shut down the University in the midst of the pandemic sweeping the nation, what I saw was stress, uncertainty, and even fear of the unknown. I was not surprised by this; those were the things keeping me up at night as well.
The price of this pandemic to the United States, to other countries, to our professions, and of course, to so many individual families, has been steep. In an ideal world, the importance of high-quality health care, accessible to all who need it, delivered by knowledgeable and caring providers, would forever be self-evident. Sadly, access to such quality health care is often taken for granted – we just assume it will always be there. If the pandemic has shown us anything, it is that quality health care does have its limits and may not be available to us on demand. Overwhelmed at times by COVID-19 spikes, health care shortages of personnel and available technology no doubt cost lives. It has been a hard lesson to learn and, as health care providers, we should carry the cost of it as a reminder and as inspiration for the truly important work that we can do in our careers.
I saw something else when I put myself in the shoes of the community at MBKU. I saw courage, determination, service, and a steadfast dedication to the four pillars of our University vision. That MBKU is 1) Student-Centered, 2) Engaged and Inclusive, 3) Interprofessional in our Teaching and Patient Care and 4) Innovative and Contemporary as a campus will be evident by the stories this issue of Ketchum magazine celebrates. Here you will read story after story of how this community collectively came together to fulfill our mission of serving students and patients while staying safe during the pandemic.
In a strange way, I am glad I was the President of MBKU in 2020. It gave me the opportunity to see firsthand MBKU’s response to a profoundly difficult challenge. It has been my great honor to witness our response, and to play a role in it. And I know that, in part because of places like MBKU, and because of people like those of our university community, a new day will eventually come, a brighter one, into which we can carry with conviction the many hard-earned lessons of these times.
Warm Regards,
Kevin L. Alexander, OD, PhD
President