October 16, 2020

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

As we head into the weekend, we are pleased to report a decline in the number of active cases of COVID-19 among our community. As several students who previously tested positive have cleared their required isolation period, we now have 32 active cases among our community, down from the 56 reported yesterday.

We anticipate the number of cases will continue to decline through the weekend, provided that we do not see new positive test results come in from late yesterday and today. We will continue to monitor the data carefully and keep you informed.

For now, we will remain at alert level orange through at least the weekend. So long as the trend continues in the right direction, we anticipate resuming in-person classes on Wednesday, October 21. We share this information now so that faculty may prepare for the transition; we will write again no later than Monday morning to confirm plans for the week ahead.

It is critical that students continue to abide by all health and safety precautions. This is not a time to let down our guard, as doing so may delay the return to in-person classes and continue to prevent certain campus activities. The rules and practices we put in place for alert level orange remain in effect for now, including grab-and-go dining, limited residence hall access, and the prohibition of gatherings of any size. Indoor athletic facilities, Cinestudio, and the library remain closed; library materials can be obtained or returned by appointment, and printing can be arranged by appointment.

We have updated the COVID-19 dashboard to reflect the current count of active cases. We will update it again by Monday morning with additional testing data we receive through the weekend and will be back in touch with you by then as well.

Sincerely,

Joe DiChristina, Vice President for Student Success and Enrollment Management
Jason Rojas, Chief of Staff and Associate Vice President for External Relations