When Covid-19 Closed Colleges, Many Students Lost Jobs They Needed. Now Campuses Scramble to Support Them.

Ohio University leaders announced last week that, despite sending students home in response to the coronavirus pandemic, they would continue to employ and pay any student workers who wanted to keep their jobs. If they couldn’t work remotely — staffing a residence hall’s front desk, for instance — university officials said they’d find those students new roles. “We’re committed to providing opportunities for them to do meaningful work,” said M. Duane Nellis, Ohio’s president, in an interview.