From President McClure | Updated COVID-19 policies for campus – June 25, 2021

Spalding University President Tori Murden McClure sent the following message to the campus community on June 25, 2021:

Dear Spalding Community,

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us achieve a safe and successful 2020-21 academic year amid the challenges of COVID-19.

The teamwork of the campus in implementing and complying with our health and safety protocols can’t be commended enough, and our faculty and students exhibited tremendous adaptability in delivering and completing an abundance of classes in a remote format. Additionally, much of our campus community has taken the safe, responsible step of getting vaccinated for COVID-19.

In these ways, Spalding has played its part in helping our community stay safe. The pandemic certainly isn’t over, but the promising decrease in COVID-19 cases locally and nationally and the increase in vaccinations have positioned us to transition safely to campus operations in 2021-22 that will much more closely resemble pre-pandemic life.

We believe that a vibrant campus with rich in-person learning is essential to the college experience at Spalding, and we look forward to a return to that engaging environment.

Starting this fall, we expect that nearly all classes that were moved from in-person to a remote format due to the pandemic will return to a face-to-face setting.

Here are other changes and updates in policies and protocols, effective July 1. All are subject to change.

• After June 30, Spalding’s indoor mask mandate will be lifted for individuals who have been vaccinated for COVID-19.
• If you are not fully vaccinated, continue to wear a mask and practice physical distancing in all public, indoor settings on campus. Unvaccinated individuals should follow prevailing CDC guidelines for preventing illness and the spread of the virus.
• Any vaccinated individual who prefers to wear a mask in any setting will be welcome to do so. Even though masks won’t be required for all, it would be appropriate to continue carrying and wearing a mask as a courtesy to others who may feel more comfortable with having people wear them in close quarters.
• Hand sanitizer dispensers installed across campus during the past 15 months will remain in place. Regardless of your vaccination status, please continue to use them regularly as well as practicing frequent, thorough hand-washing throughout the day.

• At this time, COVID-19 vaccines are not mandated for any member of the Spalding community, but they are strongly encouraged. Please get vaccinated! The university is reviewing whether or not to require vaccines and will notify the campus community if a change in policy takes place.
• If a student has any questions about the safety or efficacy of vaccines or is unsure where to get a shot, please contact the Eagle Care Health Clinic at eaglecare@spalding.edu. Information on vaccine sites near your area can be found at vaccines.gov.

• Offices and classrooms will return to normal configurations, in accordance with CDC and state and local guidelines.
• Capacity for on-campus events will return to their pre-pandemic levels.
• Full fan capacity at athletics events will also return, unless otherwise mandated by our conference.
• The College Street Café dining hall will operate at normal capacity.

• Residence hall rooms may return to double-occupancy.
• Isolation facilities will continue to be utilized as needed.

• At this time, we will continue to require all students, staff, faculty and visitors to complete and pass the #CampusClear daily health assessment before coming to campus each day. In the instances in which we have had positive cases within our campus community, we have found #CampusClear to be an effective method for individuals to notify the university. You can learn more about #CampusClear and access links to download the app on our COVID-19 Exposure page.
• Regardless of vaccination status, any individual who is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should not come to campus.

Spalding will continue to abide by federal, state and local guidelines, and any of the above policies are subject to change based on the state of the pandemic.

This is a time of tremendous hope for our campus and our country, and, again, the best way to ensure the safety of yourself, your loved ones and our university community is to get vaccinated.

Enjoy a great, safe summer. We can’t wait to see everyone on campus in August.

All the best,

Tori

Tori Murden McClure
President, Spalding University