I met my sister Rebecca at the nearby beach about a week before the stay-at-home order was put in place here in Seattle. It was a chance to connect in-person, six-feet apart, with one of my favorite people, as well as an opportunity to hear how the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance is adjusting to its quick switch to an online reality.

With all in-person instruction cancelled, faculty who were previously reluctant to pu...