May 27, 2021
Dear Colleagues,
Together, we have officially made it to the end of this academic year. Give yourself some applause, a pat on the back, or a high five! We made it because of your continued perseverance and commitment to community health and safety. We wouldn’t be here without all of us working together. I hope that you take some time this summer to relax and rejuvenate. Below are some campus updates that I want to share with you as we wrap up this semester.
Welcoming IU President-Elect Whitten
On April 16 the ÂþÂþߣ Board of Trustees named Dr. Pamela Whitten as the university’s 19th, and first female, president. She visited IU South Bend on April 25, the first stop on a whirlwind tour of the regional campuses. I look forward to her coming back to meet more of the campus community after she starts on July 1. You can learn more about Dr. Whitten .
Recent Grants Received
I am excited to share that IU South Bend has received a number of recent grants to help us develop new programs in support of our mission. In addition to the digital skills grant from the LIFT Network I shared in my last message, IU South Bend has also received:
- A grant from the IU Pandemic Health Disparities Fund to support a counselor focused on the needs of our diverse students’ mental well-being.
- A grant from the Community Foundation of Elkhart County for a Directorship of Elkhart Programs and Partnerships to support expansion of program offerings in Elkhart.
Many thanks to those involved in putting together these successful grant applications.
Preparing for Fall 2021
Starting August 1, we will return to essentially pre-pandemic operations on campus. Yesterday, IU released its that contains guidance on Fall 2021 working, learning and socializing environments. However, until then current health and safety policies, including mask wearing, will remain in place on campus even if you are vaccinated. It will be great to see everyone back on campus soon so we can return to our vibrant, engaging and busy campus life!
I encourage you all to review the report details. provides highlights from the report, including:
- The COVID-19 vaccine will now be required for all ÂþÂþߣ students, faculty and staff. You can find more information about this requirement .
- Wearing a mask on campus will be optional for those fully vaccinated.
- Classrooms, labs, housing, dining, recreation and other campus facilities will return to pre-pandemic capacities, with no physical distancing or barriers required.
- Those exempt from the vaccine requirement will be required to wear a mask on campus and continue to participate in mitigation testing, likely twice a week.
- Vaccinated students, faculty and staff will be asked to participate in surveillance testing to monitor for outbreaks or other areas of concern. Such testing will be at much lower levels than this year's mitigation testing.
- All campuses will continue to offer symptomatic testing and voluntary asymptomatic COVID-19 testing.
- Proposals for large events, defined as 250 or more in attendance, will need to go through a review process. The report recommends large events be held outdoors when possible. For large indoor events with non-IU attendees, all attendees will be required to wear a mask during the event.
- Official campus visitors who have proof of being fully vaccinated can follow the same guidelines as fully vaccinated students, faculty and staff. Other visitors to campus (parents, tours, event attendees, etc.) should wear a mask at all times when on campus.
I hope that this report and the linked article help to answer many of your questions about what Fall 2021 will look like at IU South Bend.
To meet the vaccine requirement, you should plan to have your first dose of the vaccine no later than July 1. You must be fully vaccinated by August 15 or when you return to campus starting August 1, whichever is earlier. The Civil Rights Heritage Center (CRHC) is hosting a vaccination clinic in partnership with the Indiana Department of Health now through Saturday, May 29 from 9:00am to 6:00pm on Friday and 9:00am to 3:00pm on Saturday. You can walk-in or sign-up in advance via or by calling 211. Additional vaccination locations can also be found on this website if you can’t make the clinic at the CRHC.
I want to emphasize that the currently available COVID-19 vaccines are FDA approved and were developed and tested per the . There were no short cuts or relaxing of standards. Research shows that all currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines are safe and very effective at preventing COVID-19, especially severe disease. I encourage you to read more about how the vaccines were developed .
Nominate an All Star
We want to continue to recognize the ways faculty, staff, and student employees are going above and beyond during this challenging time. A COVID Superstar is an IU South Bend campus employee that has been recognized for their efforts in making the campus safer, assisting students or faculty in transitioning to remote work and learning, or have shown extraordinary patience, perseverance, and problem-solving skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can nominate a COVID Superstar .
Nominations are also currently being accepted for the Chancellor’s Employee Service Awards, including the:
- Chancellor's Community Engagement Award
- Chancellor’s Innovator Award
- Chancellor’s Commitment to Service Award
- Chancellor’s Outstanding Student Employee Award
You can submit nominations for the Chancellor’s Employee Service Awards through June 30.
Next Coffee with the Chancellor
The next Coffee with the Chancellor will be on June 24. Please look for more details in the Daily Titan or on the . I will provide further information on our return to campus for the Fall 2021 semester as well as an update on budget planning for the coming fiscal year.
In the meantime, enjoy summer! Thank you for your continued efforts to keep our Titan community safe.