Dear AU Community,

This is normally the off week for our regular messages, but I wanted to share a brief note about our ramp up of activity and some upcoming pieces of our planned return to campus for next fall. We are on the path to a robust in-person student experience later this year, and it is exciting to move toward this goal. Many standard procedures that prepare us for the fall semester are already underway. We are also examining lessons from the shifts in how we worked over the last several months and assessing how they should shape our work arrangements as we seek to enhance our operations in the summer, fall, and beyond.

For our students, the on-campus housing room selection process for fall 2021 begins next week. The full range of residential options will be available for fall, and we look forward to students having the opportunity to share spaces with peers again. Space will continue to be set aside for any residential students who test positive for COVID-19 to isolate, and health and safety measures will remain a priority. Current returning students will receive an email this week from the Housing and Residence Life office with key dates and in-depth information for the fall room selection process. There will also be a webinar for students and families to share more information and answer questions.

For our faculty and staff, we are building on the lessons from our remote work experience as we look to support on-campus activities in the fall. This includes outreach to hear your perspectives on our future working arrangements. While we will ensure that all student and campus services are supported when full in-person classes and residential experiences resume, we are also focused on providing effective frameworks that help in your important work and your lives. We want to leverage the flexibility, efficiency, and effectiveness of different models to both fulfill our mission and continue being a great place to work. As we continue this assessment and planning for the fall, we will update you on progress and provide different ways for you to give feedback

Thank you for your support as we ramp up and move forward. In the months ahead, we will continue to monitor health and safety conditions and make adjustments to our plans as necessary. While there are many steps in front of us, the possibilities of being together again on our campus is energizing and a cause for optimism. We’ll have more information about the summer and fall as we move through the rest of this semester.

For those in the Washington area, I hope you, like the Burwell family, enjoy the snow.

Be safe and be well.

Sylvia