This is a challenging time in higher education, and physics departments are not immune, with many reporting varying degrees of stress. COVID-19 has only exacerbated these already difficult situations.

This situation prompted the American Physical Society to develop the Toolkit for Departments Under Threat (ep3guide.org/toolkit). This project was fast-tracked to be available for programs needing immediate guidance in defending themselves against challenges, and we welcome your input and feedback at ep3guide.org/toolkit-feedback/ as we work to make the site more useful to such programs.

Guidance in the Toolkit was sourced from over 50 interviews with administrators and physics faculty, generally chairs, representing physics departments under various levels of threat. While many thematic patterns emerged, one lesson is that each department represents a unique ecosystem. There is no silver bullet. However, we believe there are opportunities to improve one’s standing within university administrations and to positively influence decision-making.