Fall 2020 Reopening Committees
April 30, 2020
Dear Â鶹ÊÓƵ Students, Faculty and Staff,
Again, my gratitude to all for your resilience and resounding commitment to students and to each other as we have persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, I announce the formation of a series of broad-based committees that will explore and provide advice regarding critical elements, alternatives and contingencies for the fall 2020 opening of school. As you know, we have already continued remote learning through the Summer II session ending July 29, canceled on-campus events through July 4 and asked the vast majority of university employees to work remotely until further notice. As we consider our next steps, we have many assets, particularly the wisdom and expertise of our university community that includes internationally renowned public health faculty.
Our preferred course of action is to resume face-to-face instruction on our Â鶹ÊÓƵ campuses in August, including residence hall living on the Kent Campus. The safety and well-being of our students and employees is of primary importance, and the advice from our own experts along with evolving state and federal guidelines will help us shape the best plans and preparations. In addition to our preference for face-to-face instruction, we will prepare a remote learning scenario, and a hybrid face-to-face and remote learning plan.
Toward that end, I am appointing fall 2020 reopening committees, the focus and membership of each of which will be announced next week.
We will also form a First-Year Experience (FYE) and campuswide COVID-19 curriculum committee to develop a comprehensive educational initiative involving students, faculty and staff. In the coming year, we have a unique opportunity to lean in and learn together as we continue to navigate the effects and implications of the pandemic for our university and our world. This powerful curricular initiative will empower our students and employees as together we study the latest pandemic research and policy issues.
The committees will begin their work as soon as we confirm membership and availability (the list will be posted on the university’s coronavirus updates webpage). I expect their work will continue well into the summer. With our community’s talent and commitment, I am confident we will develop the best plan and protocols for delivering upon our mission and core values while protecting health and safety to the fullest extent possible. As I said in my earlier message this week, the only certainty is uncertainty. With this guidance and emerging best practices and data, we will identify and share key reopening dates and procedures.
Sincerely,
Todd Diacon
President