Dear MLA members,

These last few weeks have been grueling, and I hope you and the ones you love are safe and getting the support you need. This e-mail will cover three big things, so here's the short and sweet version: 1. we're opening up an emergency grant program for contingent faculty members; 2. we can help with the transition to remote learning, and we can make it easy for you to form virtual communities with other members to support your teaching, research, and well-being; 3. we have been promoting equitable labor practices for higher education, and lots of people have been paying attention.

Starting today, MLA members who are employed part-time with no health benefits may apply for $500 emergency grants to help them through the hardships of the current situation with COVID-19. Here's more information. Initially, twenty-five grants will be distributed on a lottery basis, and we are embarking on a fundraising campaign to enable us to make more grants available. If you're in a position to help us with that, please give to Paving the Way.

Most of you are struggling with moving to remote learning formats for your classes. We have been putting together tons of resources for you, as you have seen in our previous messages, including a new Web site theme designed for online teaching and learning; tips and resources for teaching remotely; and Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities, where you can collect and share readings and resources. We’re also working to make Zoom get-togethers possible through MLA Commons. You’ll be able to use this feature in conjunction with your Commons site to conduct classes or hold office hours and to connect with site collaborators on shared projects. MLA forums will be able to brainstorm about convention sessions and host informal meet-ups. And don’t forget that you can already use the existing discussion forums and message features to stay in touch with folks outside your household and your department. This is your professional community—please use it to help. And reach out to us on staff directly (my e-mail address is pkrebs@mla.org) with ideas for how we can help.

While scholarly associations don't have a lot of power to compel, we have some power to influence. The Executive Council has recently put out a statement on academic labor and COVID-19 that has been used by members to advocate for change at their institutions. Last week I wrote a piece about how the current crisis shines a light on employment inequities in higher education, and people have been using it to make arguments to the administrators at their institutions. This kind of influence absolutely depends on our being a powerful member organization. And being a powerful member organization depends on our having members. That's why your membership is crucial, especially today. If you like what we're doing, please encourage a colleague to join, too.

Please remember to get up from your computers to do some stretching, walking, or whatever you can do in your personal situation. Take the mental health breaks you need. Reach out to others for help. I know you are giving your students the support they need—if we can help support you, please let us know.

Stay strong.

Paula M. Krebs

Executive Director