New Campus Dashboard Available, Aug. 28, 2020
Good afternoon,
As we reach the end of the first week of classes, I wanted to write and thank everyone for all they are doing. We knew this would be difficult. I have heard more than one person say this was one of the most trying weeks of their professional careers.
I couldn’t be prouder of our campus community. So many of you have risen above the frustration to solve problems for our students this week. Thank you.
I want you to know we have just posted a campus data dashboard where you will find our most updated information on the number of active cases on campus, the percentage of our 96 quarantine beds that are occupied and other pertinent county data. You will find it on our campus dashboard page here.
Our current campus safety level is “yellow.” It is important to note that while we have not met all of the indicators for “yellow” status, the Minnesota Department of Health advised all campuses in the state to open up with that status level. The data points and status on that page will be updated weekly based on the information we receive from the Minnesota Department of Health and local public health officials. It is the same information we share weekly with the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities System Office.
It is certain we will face more challenges in the coming weeks. It is important that we work closely and in partnership with one another at the University, as well as the City and the Public Schools as we strive to address the pandemic challenges. We need to maintain our focus on following safety rules. We all need to avoid situations where others are not being safe. And importantly, doing work this difficult means we must be kind to one another.
In closing, I want to share something that inspired me this week. Our Minnesota State University, Mankato Concert Choir, directed by Dr. Aaron Humble of the Department of Music and Entertainment Industries, recorded this socially-distanced, masked version of our school hymn on Thursday. It is a great reminder of why we are doing this work. We are all working hard so that our students can inspire us like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Sq9I2kO7U
I hope everyone has a safe and restful weekend.
Kind regards,
Richard Davenport
President
