ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part explores how the pandemic worsened an already deteriorating set of conditions in the place of work. It describes the impact of eroding walls between academia and the world outside; the pandemic severely disrupted faculty and administrators’ ability to support their students. The part explores the important services that are connected to a university. It argues that the university serves as a space for learning but also a space of serenity away from the financial and care burdens of low-income students. The part describes the ways in which the pandemic disrupted the lives of the mostly minority, low-income, first generation students at their liberal arts college. It defines faculty members’ inability, despite their wishes, to cater fully to the needs of the diverse students.
