Fall Planning Update
To the Stony Brook University Community,
As we approach the final weeks of the Spring Semester, we hope that you and your families are healthy and safe. We write to update you on plans for the months ahead and, in particular, the planning underway for the 2020-2021 academic year.
As you know, our region stands at the current epicenter of the pandemic in the United States. We are proud of how the Stony Brook community has responded. Our Stony Brook Medicine personnel have been heroic in meeting the rapidly escalating healthcare needs of our region. Our faculty and staff facilitated a smooth transition to remote teaching and learning so that our academic mission could continue. Our students have risen to the challenges posed by remote learning.
The question on everyone’s mind is what will happen in the fall. Specifically, will we be able to return to campus?
Answering this question requires careful attention to local conditions. As we consider how to reactivate campus, we will do so with the guidance of our medical, epidemiological, and local public health experts. The well-being of our community must remain our overriding priority.
At the beginning of this crisis, the University established Coronavirus response committees. These teams have served the University well in meeting emergent needs and are now focused on assessment and planning for the months ahead. These committees will consult with campus leadership, employing shared governance as we develop return to campus protocols in light of the new challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are as eager as all of you to return to campus as soon as possible though no definitive decisions have yet been made about the fall term. We plan to provide the campus further updates no later than June 30; sooner if we are able. Along the way, we will update the University Coronavirus website with timely information regarding the fall semester.
Our nation is confronted by a dramatically challenging, disorienting, and disturbing situation -- one unique in its entire history. The stresses and strains on us all -- both at work and at home -- are profound. At the same time, the Stony Brook community has drawn together in powerful and inspiring fashion. Your resilience, skill, courage, and virtuosity are widely acknowledged and celebrated on campus, throughout the SUNY network, and across higher education nationwide.
To be sure, difficult days will continue to confront us. But we will do so together. We want to express our gratitude to everyone on campus for your work in helping us continue to meet the University’s mission and support the Seawolf community.
With our hopes for your health and safety and our warmest regards,
Maurie McInnis
President-Elect
Michael A. Bernstein
Professor of Business, Economics, and History
Interim President