General

August 24, 2020: Video Message About Reactivating Campus

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Dear campus community,

We are beginning to welcome new and returning students to campus—an event I am both excited for and nervous about. Our abiding concern is for health and safety as we enter this unprecedented semester, and it is critically important that we all do our part to keep one another safe.

Please take a moment to watch this short video, on our Reactivating Campus website, that reiterates some of our safety measures. I also encourage you to review the Code of Conduct for students, and the Community Agreement for employees. Each details the University’s policies and expectations for members of the Wesleyan community that must be adhered to as conditions of being on campus.

August 20, 2020: COVID-19 Testing and Next Steps

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Dear students,
I am writing with information about your return to campus and the University’s plans for COVID-19 testing. 

Students, faculty, and staff will schedule their tests for COVID-19 at covidtesting.wesleyan.edu or within their WesPortal in the COVID-19 Resources bucket. Users can select a preferred date and time for testing and once a test has been booked, the user will receive an email confirming the upcoming appointment.

Wesleyan, along with more than 50 other colleges and universities, had planned to use software developed by CoVerified to assist with scheduling tests, delivering results, and more. This software is not yet ready to be used. Wesleyan will deploy CoVerified if and when we are confident that it will meet the expectations of our students, faculty, and staff.

August 19, 2020: Public Health Update

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To the Wesleyan community,

As we prepare to welcome students back to campus next week, I’m happy to report that Connecticut continues to do well with decreasing cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19. That said, the unprecedented increases in cases and hospitalizations in most other states in the country are sobering. In addition, the mean age for cases is decreasing, and we’re continuing to learn more about the serious post-COVID syndromes experienced by many young people, including chronic fatigue and hypercoagulopathies (blood clots to the lungs, etc).

During the pandemic, it is important to distinguish between the things we can change and the things we cannot. The unpredictable course of the coronavirus and other people’s behaviors (including those who choose not to wear face coverings and congregate in large groups) are examples of the latter—generally out of our control. The best place to focus our energy is on the things we can control, which come in two parts.

August 16, 2020: Pre-Arrival Checklist

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Dear students,
We are looking forward to welcoming you back to campus.  As you know, your arrival to campus this year will be quite different than usual. In addition to packing your bags (which we’d advise keeping light), please remember to complete the following steps.

August 10, 2020: Important Information for Fall Semester

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Dear students,

As our staff makes final preparations for students’ arrival to campus only two weeks from now, we look forward to the start of the semester with a mix of excitement and anxiety. Most of us have longed for the day when we can be together again on campus since we were abruptly forced apart by the pandemic last spring, yet the worsening public health conditions in much of the country are deeply troubling. Thankfully, Connecticut continues to fare well with decreasing COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths—largely thanks to the continued diligence of our state’s residents in following the rules meant to keep the public safe.

Like the state, Wesleyan has its own set of rules and expectations that all students, faculty, and staff will be required to follow. We write today to remind you of these policies and practices, as well as to drive home how serious we will be about enforcing them.

August 3, 2020: Updated State Guidance on Arrival Plans

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Dear students,

In response to Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont’s recent Executive Order/Travel Advisory, Wesleyan has been advised to make changes to our arrival plans. The University is thus updating information we previously provided, and it is possible we will need to make further changes as the public health context or state guidance evolves.

August 3, 2020: New State Guidance for Faculty

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Dear colleagues,

In response to Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont’s recent Executive Order/Travel Advisory, Wesleyan has been advised to make further changes to our opening plans for the fall semester. The University is thus updating information we previously provided, and it is possible we will need to make further changes as the public health context or state guidelines evolve. 

July 28, 2020: COVID Testing Support — Help Needed

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As we prepare to roll out a robust schedule of on-campus testing for students, staff and faculty, we anticipate needing 20-25 full time staff to assist.  Current thinking is that the testing will run for 15 weeks, training for test staff will occur the week of August 10th, testing for employees will begin on or around August 17th and August 24th for students.

July 24, 2020: Public Health Update

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To the Wesleyan Community,

Welcome to the dog days of summer. Did you know this expression actually comes from the rise of Sirius, the dog star, from July 3 to August 11? It has nothing to do with dogs, though my Labrador Retriever remains skeptical. And there’s your piece of trivia for the day!

I write to you amidst a heat wave in Connecticut, as my colleagues and I are working hard in preparation for the start of school, just over a month away. Today, I’d like to share details of Wesleyan’s plans for COVID-19 testing.