In this week’s update, we are looking forward to the Fall of 2021. As you will see in the details below, our present plan is to return to the in-person residential, educational, and research experience that has always been a hallmark of our University. After a year in which the pandemic disrupted nearly everything about the UVA experience, we are eager to get back to living, learning, and working together here in Charlottesville and we know you are too.
The plan we are developing includes a return to in-classroom instruction for students and for faculty and more normal operations for key parts of University life like housing, dining, libraries, recreation, and transportation.
These plans are based on our expectation that vaccines will be widely available by the beginning of the fall term and the prevalence of the coronavirus will be much lower than it is today. In the event that the trajectory of the pandemic worsens, it may be necessary for us to revisit some of these decisions. Additionally, there may be a continuing need for some level of public health precautions, but we are optimistic that they will be much less restrictive than the protocols we have employed over the course of the past year.
As we have since the beginning of the pandemic, University leaders will work with public health experts to make those decisions based on their evaluation of the conditions surrounding the virus closer to the beginning of the semester. We will update you with much greater detail on our health and safety plans no later than July 15.
This good news would not be possible without students, faculty, staff, and parents who have overcome the challenges of the past year with grace and ingenuity and who have contributed to our preparations for the coming fall throughout the planning process. We are not quite out of the woods yet, but we have finally reached a point where we can envision a return to much more normal conditions of in-person learning, working, and research. That is certainly worth celebrating and taking a moment to thank all of you for helping us to get this far.
Speaking of celebrations, we will communicate directly with members of the University Classes of 2020 and 2021 with updates on Final Exercises tomorrow, April 2, and offer updates for the rest of our community in UVA Today as well. Jim Ryan President
Liz Magill Provost
JJ Davis Chief Operating Officer
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