Dear Wright State Community,
As we approach the 12-month mark of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state of Ohio, I am pleased to write you today and share that plans are underway for university operations for the 2021 Summer and Fall Semesters.
I want to thank our COVID taskforce members for the work they have done over the past year and the work they continue to do to keep our campus communities safe. I would also like to recognize and thank all of our essential workers who have been on campus throughout the pandemic and have worked tirelessly on student safety and kept our operations functioning. Thank you to our staff and faculty who have continued to educate, support, and connect with our students in meaningful ways all the while working in a remote format.
Finally, a huge thank you to our students. You are incredibly resilient. Even though it has been challenging in many ways, you have persisted and are making great headway toward your degree completion. It has been through everyone’s participation and hard work that we have kept our positivity rates incredibly low and have had no evidence of on-campus transmission.
As we continue to see COVID cases decline in the state and across the nation, and with the roll-out of an additional vaccine option, we are planning to welcome back, in-person, our faculty, staff, and students to our campuses this fall.
The university is basing this decision on current public health projections that the majority of the population will be vaccinated, and the case counts will be low. Under that scenario, the university is planning for a larger percentage of our students to have access to in-person classes and increased residence hall capabilities.
We are also planning to host a number of small-group, in-person student orientation activities over the summer and will continue to offer in-person tours for prospective students.
I will caution our Raider and Laker communities that this by no means should be taken as an indication that university life will return to pre-March 2020 normal. But it should be viewed as a move in the right direction toward our new normal.
I know that this news will bring joy to a great many in our community and may also create some anxiety. I want to assure you all that we will continue to follow all state and national public health guidance to ensure the health and safety of our university community. We will continue to update the campus community in the weeks ahead.
While the ever-changing nature of the COVID situation requires us to be prepared to shift operations in the event of a change in circumstances, I remain very optimistic and enthused to continue planning toward the return of our campus community.
Best wishes,
Sue
