| by Mark Peluso
With the arrival of student leaders on the Vermont campus this week, we had the first opportunity to conduct COVID-19 testing with a large group returning for the fall semester on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 18 and 19. I am writing to report that, of the 284 tests taken, zero were positive, 279 were negative, and five had an insufficient sample result and will be retested today.
| by Karen Miller and David Provost
As the first group of students return to campus this week and help remind us all of our shared educational mission, we write to provide you with an update on our preparations for returning to the campus workplace.
| by Laurie L Patton
As you are probably aware, today is the day that 325 of our student leaders return to campus. We are excited to have our students back on campus, even as the Middlebury world they are returning to has radically changed and the semester they are about to embark on will be unlike any other semester in Middlebury’s history.
| by Sujata Moorti
As we gear up for the fall semester I wanted to send you an update with a number of housekeeping details. First though I want to thank you all for all the work you have conducted over the summer on preparing for fall classes. Because of the time you have invested in course preparation, I am confident that the student learning experience this fall will be radically different from the spring.
| by Laurie L Patton
There is no perfect solution to the Covid-19 reopening dilemma. In our view, we will get farther if we try not to polarize on this topic. There is an ethics of closing and an ethics of reopening. At Middlebury we know residential education reduces inequities for students and supports their mental health. The question for us was, could we create the safest possible environment to do so. We need to be deeply conservative in re-opening.
| by Amanda Reinhardt
Please see below for a summary of information and resources that have been sent to students and families over the past few weeks in preparation for the fall semester. We recommend frequently checking two primary sources of information: the Orientation and Middlebury 2020–21 websites.
| by Derek Doucet, Mark Peluso, and Jennifer Kazmierczak
I’m writing with information about our new mandated health-screening mobile app called PolicyPath, which is available to download today. The state of Vermont requires health screenings prior to arrival as well as on a daily basis, and Middlebury requires all students living on campus—or commuting to classes from the surrounding area—to use this app every day. The app is part of the Student Health Pledge that every student must sign before starting the fall semester at Middlebury.
Faculty, Fall 2020, Staff, Students
| by Jeff Cason, Derek Doucet, and David Provost
In our Weekly Update this week we will address some questions about students’ return to campus this fall as well as some procedural information and education efforts for the entire campus community.
| by Derek Doucet
As we prepare for the reopening of our Vermont campus in August, I write to share some essential information about what students need to do to prepare and what they can expect when they arrive. While most of the information in this Weekly Update applies to students, it is important that our entire community understands some of the protocols and procedures we have in place for travel, testing, quarantine, and move-in.
