Dear USF faculty, staff and students,
As we celebrate the successful completion of our spring semester and look forward to honoring our graduates this weekend during our commencement ceremonies, I am writing to provide an update on our preparation for the University of South Florida’s safe return to our campuses as we look ahead to the 2021-2022 academic year.
Working in consultation with the Florida Board of Governors, USF and the other 11 State University System institutions are planning to transition to pre-COVID operations and pre-COVID classroom capacity beginning at the start of the Summer B session on June 28. We will also return to full in-person participation in athletic and social activities on our campuses, including fan participation in stadiums and arenas.
In the meantime, the USF community should continue to follow the guidelines and mitigation measures currently in place, which can be found at www.usf.edu/coronavirus. We also continue to strongly encourage all faculty, staff and students to get their COVID-19 vaccine through the many sites available both on and off campus. Learn more at www.usf.edu/vaccine-info.
We realize that moving to this next phase – while very welcome news – raises many questions. USF will continue to closely coordinate with the BOG and provide more details as soon as possible.
To help you throughout this transition, we are developing guidelines and resources to help you prepare for and navigate the months ahead. These will include a soon-to-launch website detailing our path ahead, with resources for faculty, staff and students.
Additionally, we will soon provide further clarity on USF’s Future of Work for our employees, taking into consideration the many lessons we have learned during the past year.
As we near the start of the Summer B and Fall 2021 semesters, we will again offer town-hall style information sessions for faculty, staff and students. This will enable us to address your questions and concerns based on current health data and recommendations.
And we will launch a new USF podcast, “InsideUSF: The Podcast,” with its inaugural episode featuring an interview with Donna Petersen, Chair of the COVID-19 Task Force and Dean of the USF College of Public Health, and Angie Sklenka, Chief Human Resources Officer, on USF’s Safe Return. More details will be announced soon.
Throughout the pandemic, USF has utilized the deep scientific and health expertise within the university, as well as the guidance from state leaders and partner agencies, to provide a safe environment for our community. This has contributed to our ability to keep COVID case counts low across our campuses. We have also relied on you, our USF community, to do your part in keeping one another safe.
Thank you for your ongoing compassion, resilience and patience as we navigate our safe return together.
Sincerely,
President Currall