This is not the first time we have dealt with sudden plague, and it won’t be the last. As our slow return to campus is regularly threatened by new mutations, it’s worth reflecting on what lessons pandemics past and present can teach us. What’s different this time, and why does that matter? And how might this pandemic be affecting the culture of higher education?

Nicholas Christakis, Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University and author of Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live, will discuss the medical and sociological impacts of past plagues and what steps colleges and universities can take to effectively adjust in our pandemic world.