Fall is nigh and Lesley is ready to roll! We are eager to get back to in-person learning within the context of the latest science-based COVID information and are optimistic that Fall 2021 will mark a long-awaited return to life at Lesley University.
President Janet L. Steinmayer and her cabinet recently sent out a series of communications to students, faculty and staff with critical information and exciting developments for the new academic year. Our plans for reopening, including academics, activities and more, are delineated on our Fall 2021 Plan page, and university administrators have outlined a number of highlights and considerations in emails to undergraduate and Threshold students and their families, graduate students, and faculty and staff.
“We are readying our facilities and grounds to welcome the first groups of students returning for the Fall Semester in mid-August for preseason athletics and orientations for student leaders and new students in our Urban Scholars Initiative,” President Steinmayer wrote. “We expect the installation of HyFlex technology in over 50 classrooms and the Math Lab to be complete by the end of August, and we will offer training to the faculty teaching in those rooms during the week before classes start.”
Among the changes the president announced are:
- A phased return to campus. Student-facing staff have already begun returning to campus to support the early arrival of some students, such as scholar-athletes and students attending orientation.
- Health and safety protocols include highly recommended and, for some, mandatory COVID vaccinations for faculty and staff, and required vaccinations for students returning to campus, except those students with approved medical or religious exemptions. In addition, face masks must be worn inside all university buildings and all university community members will be required to receive the flu vaccine, once it is widely available in the fall. While we anticipate a return to in-person classes and activities, the university is setting the room capacity at 30 individuals during this phase of the reopening.
We do not plan to conduct COVID-19 surveillance testing of employees or students. All students living in university housing and all students traveling from outside the U.S. are required to present proof of a negative PCR test for COVID-19 taken no more than 72 hours prior to their arrival on campus, and to be re-tested on campus within 3-5 days after arriving.
- The Fall Opening events schedule includes a hybrid of in-person and remote celebrations, including Convocation on Sept. 9, as well as individual activities geared toward students, faculty, staff and alumni.
For more detailed, continually updated, information, please consult our Fall 2021 Plan page.