TO: The Gustavus Community
FROM: President Bergman
SUBJECT: Gustavus COVID-19 Response Update
DATE: June 4, 2020
As we begin the summer, our COVID-19 Response Leadership and Action teams are hard at work preparing strategies and plans to have students safely living and learning on campus this fall.
The membership of our 12 COVID-19 Response Action Teams have been finalized and each team has met to begin their work. Rosters and descriptions of each team’s area of responsibility are available online. Please join me in thanking these members of our community for their willingness to help us move forward, and especially the student representatives on each action team.
The timeline for our 12 action teams is ambitious. This week and next, they are reviewing guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health, establishing scenarios for various levels of COVID-19 impact, and considering the prevention measures we need to have in place before the beginning of the school year. Each team will submit a first draft of recommendations from their area by June 15. In June and July, there will be opportunity for input from students, faculty, and staff. Action teams will revise plans based on this input, add any additional recommendations, and present a comprehensive set of recommendations to the President’s Cabinet for review and approval in late June or early July.
In the coming days, information will be added to the College’s COVID-19 website including details, timelines, and updates about our ongoing planning for the fall. Additional updates will be sent weekly via email by the COVID-19 Response Leadership Team.
Gusties, these action teams comprise over 130 deeply committed members of our community who are working diligently to create frameworks that will allow us to be together on campus and in classrooms this fall. Their recommendations, shaped by the feedback provided by other members of our community, will help us move forward. I remain confident that our work, guided by emerging best practices and partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health, will provide our community with a comprehensive, scalable, and effective plan for the fall.
If you have specific questions or ideas to share, I encourage you to contact the chair or co-chairs of the appropriate action team, or email g-covidresponse@gustavus.edu.
Yours in community,
President Bergman