Dear students, parents, faculty, and staff,
The start of classes on August 26 is still a few weeks away, but our campuses started seeing new signs of activity over the weekend. Approximately 400 students from across the country and around the world arrived early to quarantine in University-sponsored housing for 14 days, in keeping with New York State guidelines. I know these students and their families were asked to be patient and flexible as we worked through many complex travel, housing, and dining logistics. I’m so glad they’re finally here!
The students under quarantine have agreed to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and again at the end of the quarantine period, before relocating to their permanent dorm assignments. They are expected to remain in their rooms at all times and receive contactless meal deliveries. This is certainly an inauspicious way to begin the academic year, but I am confident that our students will take the quarantine requirements seriously, and be thoughtful about taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves and others.
All of us at the University—students, faculty, and staff—need to verify our commitment to act in accordance with University public health guidelines and directives from our state and local officials. We know that following guidelines for wearing masks and keeping our physical distance will not be easy, but for us to continue to fulfill our mission of teaching, research, and patient care, we need the entire community to do their part. I firmly believe safety is a shared responsibility and the guidelines we put forward are the best way to keep the entire University community, and our Rochester neighbors, safe.
The residents of Monroe County have been doing a remarkable job keeping the number of positive COVID-19 cases small and transmission rates low. None of us wants to see a change in the wrong direction that could jeopardize our fall semester.
As someone who has spent much of her academic career studying human behavior, I know that people look to other people in their social groups for clues about how to behave. So, if we all take these guidelines seriously, those around us are more likely to do so too. And, if we all take these guidelines seriously, we will have the greatest chance to fulfill our possibilities for fall semester and beyond. When you see me out and about, I will be wearing a mask and keeping my distance. This helps me feel safe and hopefully it helps you feel safe, too.
For the past few months, our deans, administrators, faculty, and staff—in continued consultation with our colleagues at our University Health Service and the Medical Center—have worked tirelessly preparing for students to return. Our facilities team has developed enhanced cleaning protocols and studied air quality and airflow in our residence halls, libraries, classrooms, and office buildings. Our health services team has been counseling students and designing testing and contact tracing protocols. And our classrooms have been properly equipped for in-person and online learning and social distancing. The work of our colleagues is unlike anything I have experienced in my academic career.
With all of this careful preparation, I am cautiously optimistic that the fall semester will go well. We all know the situation is unpredictable and can change at any time, but I am confident we have done all we can as an institution to ensure a safe teaching, learning, and living experience for all. I do look forward to the day when we can return to campus life in the way it was intended to be. Until then, let’s continue moving forward safely and remember that this is all temporary. We will all be together again soon.
Warm regards,
Sarah Mangelsdorf
President and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor