A Message about Surveillance Testing, Campus Building Access, and Response Team Office Hours
A COVID-19 Update
To the Bard College Community,We would like to welcome everyone back to campus and congratulate you all on the successful completion of L&T and the first week of the semester. Seeing everyone enjoying the first week of classes and campus life is a gratifying reminder of why we’re all here. Part of this successful return process has been our policy of masking for these initial two weeks. Another aspect is surveillance testing, which we detail below, along with protocols for building access and the return of Response Team office hours, where community members can ask the Response Team questions about any aspect of campus life in relation to COVID safety. The first office hours of the semester, to be held next Tuesday, September 7, will focus on event planning for the fall 2021 semester.
Surveillance Testing
As part of the arrival process, the Bard Health Service’s COVID testing team began conducting student surveillance testing on September 2. All surveillance tests administered this week have received negative results. This screening protocol, which we will re-evaluate later this month to determine if it needs to continue based on the public health situation at the time, tests randomly selected students representing 20% of the student population, and will help us establish a baseline of a healthy campus, much as we did at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters last academic year. Testing takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students will be notified by email from [email protected] and the participation of selected students is mandatory. Students who were approved for vaccine exemptions will be tested weekly throughout the semester.
Employees who were approved for vaccine exemptions are receiving instructions from the Human Resources office about how to obtain and submit mandatory testing results.
With 99% of our campus population vaccinated, we already have a high degree of protection from serious illness on campus. The additional precautions of masking and surveillance testing bring some extra protection during this return-to-campus period.
Campus Building Access
With the return to full in-person learning and all campus offices now open, we remind you that College campus buildings remain closed to visitors, including family members, unless prior approval has been granted. Members of the Bard Community can apply for essential visitor approvals here; all visitors to campus facilities must show proof of vaccination and be approved in advance. Please note that professors may be unmasked at the front of the classroom if they are physically distanced from students, and individuals may be unmasked with the door open if they are alone in their office, as long as they are physically distanced from the door.
Response Team Office Hours
The Response Team will resume our weekly open office hours on Tuesdays from 12 noon to 1pm via Zoom, with no appointment needed. Our Tuesday, September 7th office hours will focus on helping community members plan events to understand how best to proceed within guidelines currently in effect. If you are expecting or hoping to organize any kind of larger event this semester - particularly one potentially bringing groups of visitors to campus, such as a conference - please bring your questions. You can use the link in your Bard email to log in to the Sept. 7 office hours, or email the Response Team at [email protected] for Zoom information.
We are all looking forward to an engaging, enjoyable, and safe semester.
Sincerely,
Bard College COVID-19 Response Team
[email protected]
Coleen Murphy Alexander, Vice President for Administration
Kimberly Alexander, Director, Human Resources
Jonathan Becker, Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Barbara Jean Briskey, Director of Health Services
Deirdre d'Albertis, Vice President and 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, Assistant Vice President of Operations, Director, Safety and Security
David Lindholm, Interim Athletic Director
Emily McLaughlin, Associate Dean of the College, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Jennifer Murray, Dean of International Studies
Bethany Nohlgren, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students
Kahan Sablo, Dean of Inclusive Excellence
Michael Sadowski, Associate Dean of the College
David Shein, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Studies
Éric Trudel, Professor of French, Chair, Faculty Senate
Dumaine Williams, Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Early Colleges
For more information, call 845-758-6822, e-mail [email protected],
or visit https://www.bard.edu/covid19/.