Dear St. Catherine Community,
It is with enthusiasm that I share with you that we are working on a plan to fully return to campus for fall of 2021.
The University's Senior Leadership Team and Safely Returning to Campus (SRC) committee have continually assessed our pandemic protocols and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) guidelines. With continued decline in COVID-19 cases, increasing vaccination rates, and continued attention to mitigation measures such as masking and social distancing, we are on track to return to campus in the fall provided cases continue to decline. We are increasingly reassured by the current projections on the number of Minnesotans who will be vaccinated and the continued guidance from our public health experts that we can bring students, faculty, and staff back to our campus while continuing to effectively minimize the risk to our community.
Our plan for full return to campus means academics, housing, and events will begin to transition back to regular in-person operations over the summer, with the transition being completed by August. Details on these operations will be further defined over the next weeks and months. Our health and safety protocols to date have been very successful in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. We will continue to maintain these during the transition back to campus as part of our return in the fall. We also will continue to be 100% compliant with any/all MDH guidelines, making adjustments when and where needed.
We will provide additional details in communication to you next week. This will include steps to be taken starting April 6 to strategically, thoughtfully, and safely transition from our current remote/hybrid operations to fully return in-person to our beautiful campus by the end of August. The SRC committee is finalizing details on our transition plan in accordance with the most recent guidance from MDH, the state’s projections on vaccine availability, and maintaining health and safety protocols. If you have questions, please submit them here to help inform our communications.
I am deeply appreciative to each and every one of you for your diligence in practicing safe and healthy behaviors, for your commitment to care for one another during this challenging time, and for being a vital part of our St. Catherine community. We are only able to take these steps forward because of our efforts to navigate this pandemic together, and now we can look to our collective future.
I can’t wait to see you all again in person,
Becky Roloff
President