An update from the president to employees, Aug. 9: Masks mandatory indoors starting tomorrow

Posted: August 9, 2021

Main takeaways include:

• We are excited to have the entire community returning to campus and are looking forward to another fully in-person year together. 
• We are actively doing everything we can to inform, encourage and support each and every employee and student to get vaccinated. 
• Nearly 80% of our full-time faculty and staff have completed their reporting of their vaccinations. Thank you and let’s keep that processing moving for all.
• We have not mandated the vaccine and understand some may have medical or other essential restrictions that might preclude them from getting the vaccine. Therefore, in order to maximize the safety and protect the health of all, anyone who has not provided their documentation of vaccination will be expected to wear a mask at all times and will be tested at least once every two weeks as part of our ongoing intensive surveillance of the virus on campus.
• Masks will again be required for all of us inside all University facilities on both the Erie and Ruskin campuses beginning August 10 in recognition of climbing rates in our local communities. We will monitor our regional environments surrounding both campuses as we always do and continue to make adjustments as the conditions relative to the virus change. For now, we will be back to masks indoors to respect each other and to follow evolving regional guidance and CDC recommendations.
• Otherwise, our classrooms and campus environment will be back to normal capacity and physical social distancing measures (limited desks, chairs, etc.) have been removed.
• We do expect you will monitor your health at home. If you are ill, DO NOT come to campus. Reach out to the Health Center via the LiveSafe app to let us know and get any support we can provide.
• All of these updates and details on our mitigation plans, travel policy and more can be found at update.gannon.edu

Coming up on our campuses: 

• If you are interested in volunteering to help welcome students to campus during Welcome Week, please contact Jamie McCaslin. There are many roles to fill to serve our students in creating an exceptional and warm welcome for them.
• All employees are invited to participate in the activities throughout Welcome Week: there are many Find Your Fit excursions and events planned to engage with our students. 
• We will be holding Call to Community on August 19, as well as Convocation and IgKnight Activities Fair on August 24. 
• On the Ruskin Campus, many students are already in full swing of classes, and we will welcome many more to campus for orientation on August 23 & 24.
• All this excitement will lead up to our first day of classes on Aug. 25. 
• In Ruskin, construction will begin on the third floor of the New Academic Building late September early October. 
• You will see new artwork across campus when you arrive.
• We will get together at the end of this month for our first in-person community meeting in more than a year.
• The Chapel will be open for in-person worship and Mass.
• The Hatchery on the third floor of I-HACK will open this fall.
• Construction will continue on South Hall, and Chick-Fil-A construction continues, though, delayed a bit from the planned opening this fall.
• We will hold a series of in-person Open House events Sept. 18, Oct. 23 and Nov. 6.
• We will be bringing our annual Homecoming celebration back to campus and in-person this year as well Sept. 23-26.
• There will be several new dining changes, including the new LUMI Café in the Center for Business Ingenuity; changes in the cafeteria including continuing to-go options there and a station in Waldron. You will also have the ability to use Grub Hub to order food and drinks for pickup from our campus dining locations

We can’t wait to welcome you home, Knights.