As we continue to progress through the semester, I hope you are all well.
I continue to appreciate how our campus community is respectful and following COVID-19 health and safety protocols, which are proving to help keep our campus community safe. As you can see on our COVID-19 dashboard, our numbers are still trending downward, and we will maintain these trends with everyone’s help. Please continue to be diligent. As always, you can find more information, including that of vaccines, on our Safe Campus website.
Commencement Update
I know there is a lot of interest in our plans around 2021 commencement.
We have been in communication with the State of Minnesota and understand that officials will soon issue commencement-specific guidance for higher education institutions. In the meantime, University of Minnesota System leadership has provided guidance as we begin contingency planning for graduation this spring to be either online, hybrid, or in person, understanding that current state restrictions limit gatherings to no more than 250 people.
We appreciate that planning for multiple possibilities is frustrating, and our hope is that this planning, in combination with updated state guidance, should allow us greater flexibility for commencement than last spring. As the guidance is released, and our planning continues, we will finalize our plan and convey it to you as soon as possible.
The forecast for the weekend is looking favorable. I hope you are all able to get out and enjoy the outdoors.
Sincerely,
Lendley C. Black
Chancellor
