Looking Ahead to Fall, 4-6-21

Dear students, faculty and staff,

As I shared with you early last month, our state’s progress on COVID-19 vaccination is encouraging as we set our sights on what’s ahead. By continuing to take a cautious and measured approach, bolstered by the highest safety standards, we will set ourselves up for a healthy and productive return to campus when the time is right. From the beginning of the pandemic, we have set a high bar for our campus, using public health guidance as our minimum and creating our own robust protocols to protect our campus community. We will continue to do so.

While we work over the coming months to develop plans for the fall, we can expect our current hybrid model to remain in place, with limited expansion of in-person activities occurring in June and beyond, even as vaccinations are underway across our campus and our state. We hope for the ability to ramp up in phases from pandemic operations to a more normal fall semester, with a majority of in-person classes and on-campus activity, provided conditions remain stable. We also support continued remote work in some departments and units, where it is feasible and productive. In addition, we plan to revisit university-related travel and events ahead of the flurry of meetings and functions that typically marks the beginning of a new academic year.

Please know that more information about phased return to campus planning is being developed, including an administrative planning template available soon, along with existing research and education templates. In any case, we will offer ample time for schools, departments and work units to put detailed plans in place, and ensure that all CU Anschutz faculty, staff and students have plenty of advance notice of changes as we move into the new “normal” for our campus.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we gain a clearer vision of what’s possible in the next phase of our return.

Sincerely,

Don Elliman
Chancellor