Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Dear members of the Bellarmine community,
The university has been monitoring news about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) around the clock and working with other campus leaders to determine how students, faculty and staff members might be affected.
Bellarmine University is responding to the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation as follows:
- Face-to-face classes and activities are suspended from Thursday, March 12, until Wednesday, March 18, when courses will resume online or electronically. This temporary suspension will give us time to transition to alternate course delivery. We anticipate students returning to campus for course delivery in classrooms on Wednesday, April 1, although this is subject to change based on the latest health guidance. Courses that are currently offered online are not impacted by this suspension.
- While the campus will remain open, residential students are asked to travel home during this period, if at all possible. Students should depart the residence halls by 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 14. If you are able to leave the halls prior to Saturday, please do so. Exceptions to this policy may be requested via this online form for students who cannot easily travel home or who will not have access to the Internet if they leave campus.
- University faculty and staff should continue to report to work as usual as we prepare for online delivery of courses, to continue normal work activities and to assist with recruitment and retention efforts of new and current students.
- Any member of the community who has visited an area designated by the CDC as a Level 3 travel warning (currently China, Iran, Italy and South Korea) required to contact Student Health Services by email and self-monitor their conditions at home as instructed by Health Services. See the latest CDC travel warning list here. This is also required if you have had direct exposure to someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
At present, no member of the Bellarmine community has tested positive for COVID-19. Today’s decision is intended to protect the community and slow the rate at which the virus is spreading, while maintaining the integrity of our academic offerings.
We continue to monitor guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with guidance from Kentucky health authorities. Please note that information will be regularly updated on the Bellarmine University Coronavirus website.
On our Coronavirus website, we have also provided detailed information specific to current students, prospective students, faculty and staff members, and parents that should answer some of your questions.
I know that this situation will cause some stress and uncertainty. Please bear with us as we navigate this complicated and unprecedented interruption of campus life. The health of our students is paramount, and I appreciate your patience and flexibility as we work to make these changes as smoothly as possible.
Sincerely,
Susan M. Donovan, Ph.D.
President