Start of Semester Updates, Aug. 18, 2021
Greetings, Maverick Community.
As we prepare to welcome students back to campus and to our classrooms next week, I wanted to reach out to share a few important messages with our dedicated faculty and staff.
First, thank you for the warm welcome this week. It was great to see so many of you at convocation on Monday; if you weren’t able to make it in person or to watch the live stream, I’d encourage you to watch the video.
I also want to follow up on the messages that have come out in the past couple of weeks regarding pandemic-related policy changes on campus. As you know, we are now requiring masks in all indoor public spaces. That requirement will remain in effect until further notice. We will be able to remove it when our county transmission levels return to low or moderate for 14 consecutive days. We monitor the CDC COVID Data Tracker daily and will share any changes with the campus community.
Last week we shared initial information about the Governor’s new Proof of Vaccination/Testing policy for state employees. Earlier today, we received notice from Chancellor Malhotra that a similar policy will begin on October 4th for students who live in campus residence halls or participate in select campus programs and activities. Many questions about how these policies will be implemented remain unanswered, but I want to assure you that we are working here and with our colleagues at the system office to figure out the details. To frame the need for COVID-19 weekly employee testing on campus, we will be conducting an anonymous survey next week. More will be known in the next few weeks, and I will share that with you as soon as possible.
I know that many other questions have come up recently, including whether or not we will be implementing social distance guidelines again, if faculty can remove their masks to give lectures and what the quarantine requirements are this year. We’ve added answers to these and other questions on the Frequently Asked Questions page of the Coronavirus and the Campus Community website. We’ll continue to update that content, so please check back if you have a question.
I continue to encourage everyone to get their vaccination, and remember Minnesota residents can receive $100 if they receive their first shot before Aug. 22 through the Governor’s incentive program.
It’s been great to see the students moving back into our residence halls and off-campus housing this week. I’m looking forward to seeing them—and all of you—out and about on campus this fall.
Here’s to a great start of the semester!
Edward S. Inch, Ph.D.
President
