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Millersville University's President joins Dr. Anthony Fauci in global talk focused on COVID-19

Dr. Fauci discussed the possibility of a coronavirus vaccine in addition to lessons learned during the pandemic.

Millersville University President Dr. Daniel Wubah said he received the call nearly one month ago inviting him to take part in a global discussion that would include Dr. Anthony Fauci.

On Wednesday, that discussion was streamed live through the United Nations to discuss innovation, research, and lessons learned from the pandemic.

"It was humbling to start with," said Dr. Wubah when he was asked by FOX43 about how it felt to be a part of the esteemed panel of experts that stretched from the U.S. to Germany and even Egypt.

Dr. Wubah has a long resume that includes roles as a microbiologist and as Chair of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ Committee on International Education. During his presentation Wednesday, he focused on explaining to the global audience exactly how Millersville University responded to the pandemic in addition to how it was preparing for the future. Dr. Wubah said he was also interested in learning from and listening to the presenters that included Dr. Fauci.

Read more about Dr. Wubah.

"In Dr. Fauci's presentation, he mentioned the fact that in order to find a way to control this pandemic we have to work collaboratively at a global level. One nation can't do it," said Dr. Wubah.

Fauci also reviewed lessons learned from the pandemic that include the following notes:

  • Coronaviruses have a pandemic potential and novel coronaviruses will likely continue to emerge
  • Good public health measures are critical to control an epidemic
  • Mild presentations of disease can complicate control of an epidemic
  • Global collaboration and transparency are critical 

Additionally, Dr. Fauci addressed the push for a coronavirus vaccine.

"Although you can never ever predict with any certainty whether a vaccine is going to be safe and effective, the early data on these trials have a cautious optimism of at least developing a vaccine with some degree of efficacy by the end of the year, beginning of 2021," said Dr. Fauci.

Multiple university leaders spoke about the rapid response that was necessary to reform education during the height of the pandemic. They also spoke about issues such as remote learning. Meantime, Dr. Wubah said he took three lessons from the presentation.

"The first one is the faster integration of technology in higher education," said Wubah.

As for the second lesson, he said, "one of the speakers talked about the need for us to pay attention to the mental well being of everyone."

Third, he said there was one common theme among all the presenters, and that was of compassion.

"Compassion is common everywhere no matter where you find yourself. It's a common humanity trait," said Wubah.

Dr. Wubah pointed to efforts by Millersville University to help those in need during the pandemic, including through the school's EPPIIC student compassion fund which is intended to provide financial assistance for full-time students who are facing undue financial hardship and need support and emergency assistance. Read more about that fund and other efforts here.

Meantime, Millersville University plans to hold a hybrid semester in the fall. Read more about that here. 

Learn more about the United Nations Academic Impact webinar that Dr. Daniel Wubah participated in: Confronting COVID-19 Through Innovation and Research: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic. 

Other panelists included Dr. Christoph Meinel, President and CEO of Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering; Dr. Lamiaa Mohsen, the Dean of the School of Medicine of New Giza University; and Dr. Padmini Murthy, Professor and Global Health Director of New York Medical College.

This online event is part of the ongoing celebration of the United Nation’s 75th anniversary. 

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