Dear Faculty and Staff,
With the rise in COVID-19 cases locally and nationally, I know there have been questions both about how our college and SUNY System plan to open campuses this spring. Understanding that circumstances may change, I want to give you an up-to-date and clear picture of our Spring 2022 semester plans as they stand.
Return to Campus
SUNY Morrisville will begin in-person classes as scheduled starting Monday, January 24. Residential students will return to the residence halls starting Friday, January 21. Many student-athletes and others are already here on campus now. All students, regardless of vaccination status, are required to submit a negative pre-arrival test taken 3-5 days before returning to campus. All residential students will also be pool tested upon arrival and commuter students and Norwich Campus students will be pool tested during the first week of classes. More information on what students should know can be found on the college’s COVID-19 website.
Mask Requirement
Wearing a mask continues to be required in all indoor settings. This is a critical strategy for reducing the spread of the Omicron variant and I call upon all of you to do your part to wear your mask correctly at all times and model good masking behavior for our students and others. The college is working to secure a supply of KN-95 masks which will be made available.
Quarantine & Isolation and Testing
New York State has changed the quarantine and isolation guidelines. If you are eligible to receive a booster shot, I urge you to do so promptly. Even those vaccinated who are exposed to COVID-19 and who have either not received a booster shot or are exposed within two weeks of being boosted will be required to quarantine. The Office of Human Resources will send more details in the coming weeks about mandatory surveillance testing of faculty and staff, which will be done in conjunction with our weekly testing of all unvaccinated employees. If you test positive for COVID-19, you should promptly contact Human Resources and alert your direct supervisor that you will be out.
The college has carefully considered contingency plans that appropriately weigh the health and safety of our community with the need for uninterrupted in-person learning. We will continue to track positive cases on a daily basis and will move to a remote learning model for a minimum one-week period if the number of positive cases requires this.
It is my sincere hope that by following all of the above precautions and working diligently to keep one another safe, we will be able to remain in-person the full semester in order to serve our students and give them the best possible learning environment. I look forward to seeing you on campus in a few short weeks.
With best wishes,
David E. Rogers, Ph.D. | President
SUNY Morrisville
80 Eaton Street, P.O. Box 901 | Whipple Administration Building, Fifth Floor | Morrisville, N.Y. 13408
Office: 315.684.6044 | Email: rogersde@morrisville.edu