A Message about the Return to Campus, Updated Campus Protocols, Upcoming Webinars, and Response Team Office Hours
A COVID-19 Update
Topics in this update:- Return to campus complete
- Adjustments to campus protocols
- Latest Nuvance webinar
- Upcoming vaccine webinar
- COVID-19 Response Team office hours
To the Bard College Community,
This week marks the conclusion of our return-to-campus period. We would like to thank everyone who has helped the College reach this point successfully. Bringing nearly 1500 students safely back to Annandale from around the world at the height of the pandemic, under stringent multi-faceted government restrictions, was an extremely complex logistical challenge that required our entire community to be both focused and patient. Our success in doing so is a testament to the extraordinary dedication of Bard students and employees.
Return to campus complete
All returning students on campus have completed their arrival testing and quarantine processes, and we have now conducted the first full cycle of student surveillance testing, by which all students attending in-person classes are tested every other week. We are pleased to report that the process has worked very well. Students began returning to Bard in early January, and since that time the College has completed over 4000 COVID tests, with a total of 15 positive student cases identified over that six-week period. The majority of positive cases were identified through the arrival testing process, indicating those students were exposed to COVID prior to their arrival to campus. All students who tested positive were moved into isolation housing, and thanks to the work of our contact tracing team, we were able to quickly identify close contacts, move them into quarantine housing, and prevent further infection. Today, we complete the return-to-campus period with three active student cases and one active employee case; all other previous positive student cases completed their time in isolation without further complications and were medically cleared to be released.
The low rate of COVID on campus is attributable to our ongoing collective efforts in adhering to strict protocols. You can always find current data by visiting our COVID dashboard, where you will also find links to the Dutchess County and New York State dashboards.
Please keep in mind that asymptomatic positives—people who are infected but have no symptoms—pose the greatest ongoing risk. Therefore the best way to mitigate COVID risk still lies in adhering to the behaviors with which we are all familiar: mask wearing, physical distancing, avoiding crowds, and frequent hand washing.
Adjustments to campus protocols
Now that we have completed the return-to-campus process we can begin making some adjustments to campus protocols. The following adjustments will begin on March 1:
- Community members may now begin to plan small, COVID-safe in-person activities. All proposed events must adhere to COVID safety protocols as outlined in the COVID-19 Student Handbook Addendum, as well as any additional protocols needed for each specific event. Students should contact SPARC through the student activities office by emailing [email protected]. Employees wishing to hold events may apply by filling out the form here.
- Montgomery Place will reopen for public access on weekends from dawn to dusk, beginning Saturday, March 6. Annandale campus remains closed to the public at this time.
- The Stevenson Athletic Center will begin extending hours for student use of the fitness center and allowing faculty and staff use of the pool. Details of these expanded hours and protocols for swimming access will be provided next week. Please note the facility remains closed to the public.
It is important to remember that all other campus COVID health protocols remain in place, including prohibitions on nonessential visitors. We are continually reviewing conditions both on and off campus, and will share any further adjustments in the coming weeks.
Latest Nuvance webinar
This past Wednesday, members of our team were joined in a webinar on risk and safety by infectious disease experts Dr. Andrew Yanofsky and Dr. Marc Tack of Nuvance Health. They reviewed Bard’s COVID policies and risk management strategies, and answered questions about the impact of COVID variants and vaccines. They underscored that mask wearing and physical distancing remain the key effective behaviors for containing spread of the virus.
Upcoming vaccine webinar
On Wednesday, March 3, at 7 pm, Bard Professionals of Color will present a webinar titled The Covid-19 Vaccine: Unpacking the Fears of Communities of Color. It will address the subjects of historical and contemporary resistance to vaccines in communities of color. Dr. Kahan Sablo, Dean of Inclusive Excellence and member of the COVID Response Team, will moderate. Panelists will include:
Lydell Lettsome, MD
Cheryl Wilson, MBA, MSW, LCSW
Myra Young Armstead, PhD, Vice President for Academic Inclusive Excellence and Lyford Paterson and Helen Gray Edwards Professor of Historical Studies
All are welcome. Join here: https://bard.zoom.us/j/86465311761.
Response Team office hours
Any member of the Bard community is welcome to send questions or suggestions to the Response Team by email, or to attend our weekly office hours, which we will resume next week. Every Tuesday afternoon from 4 to 5pm, members of the Response Team will be available on Zoom for anyone who wants to drop by with a question. Please check your Bard email or write to the Response Team for Zoom details.
Sincerely,
Bard College COVID-19 Response Team
[email protected]
Coleen Alexander Murphy, Vice President for Administration
Kimberly Alexander, Director, Human Resources
Jonathan Becker, Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Barbara Jean Briskey, Director, Health Services
Erin Cannan, Vice President Student Affairs/Dean for Civic Engagement
Deirdre d'Albertis, Dean of the College
Malia Du Mont, Chief of Staff, President's Office/Vice President for Strategy and Policy
Brooke Jude, Associate Professor of Biology
John Gomez, Director, Safety and Security
Emily McLaughlin, Associate Dean of the College
Jennifer Murray, Dean of International Studies
Bethany Nohlgren, Dean of Students
Kahan Sablo, Dean for Inclusive Excellence
Michael Sadowski, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies
David Shein, Associate VP for Academic Affairs/Dean of Studies
Éric Trudel, Chair, Faculty Senate
For more information, call 845-758-6822.