Dear Current and Admitted Students, Faculty, Staff, and Parents:
I am writing to let you know that the University of Rochester is currently making plans to offer two full semesters of instruction to our undergraduate and graduate students, ideally beginning with in-person orientation and classes on the same schedule as prior years. Factors beyond our control, including the continued course of the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local rules on social distancing, and the ability of our international students to obtain visas and travel to Rochester, may alter those plans. We will keep you posted on any changes we must make, and we are working with state and local government, with our epidemiologists and physicians, and with our international services office to continuously evaluate our plans. Our faculty, our student services staffs, and our residential life coordinators are all preparing to welcome students to our beautiful campus and to our classrooms, labs, and studios. We miss our students, and we can’t wait to have them back with us, but above all, we are committed to their health and safety.
Along with colleagues from other universities, we are leading efforts to develop state-wide scenarios so that New York colleges and universities are able to provide a residential learning experience this fall. And here at the University of Rochester, senior administrators and faculty are planning to restart our research activity as quickly as possible, and our faculty are prepared to teach under a number of different scenarios.
As the parent of a University of Rochester student, I know first-hand the unparalleled quality of a University of Rochester education. We have provided such an education for 170 years, and we plan to do so for centuries to come. Thank you for your patience as we work through the details of the plan and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on campus soon.
Sincerely,
Robert L. Clark, Provost