Below, for your reference, is the full text of President Julio Frenk’s video message (above) to the University of Miami community.
This week, students have begun returning to campus for the Spring 2021 semester. Classes begin on Monday, January 25, and we are ready.
While vaccines are now available to seniors (people age 65 and over) and those at high-risk, distribution to our broader University community will take time based on allocations from the state. As we continue seeing high numbers of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths across the country, we must remember that while there is light at the end of the tunnel, we are still in the tunnel—and it will take continued commitment to come through it together.
Given our record here at the U, I am fully confident our ’Canes are up to the task. Against incredible odds and much sacrifice, we are successfully accomplishing what we set out to do this fall—provide a quality academic experience while safeguarding the health and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and community. It has not been without some difficulties and setbacks—that was to be expected—but we completed a full 14-week semester on campus with a combination of in-person and hybrid courses, and we learned from every experience.
As the spring semester gets underway, we will continue adhering to the adaptive and responsive strategy predicated on the fact that, while some things are beyond our control, we believe in two fundamental ideas: we believe in science and we believe in the ability of individuals—and particularly young people—to make short-term sacrifices for long-term goals.
During the fall, the vast majority of our students, faculty, and staff validated the trust we placed in them to do their part in order to keep our community safe. I am deeply grateful for that.
From the very beginning, we established four pillars essential to reopening our campus safely:
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testing, tracing, tracking, and tele-vigilance;
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cleaning and disinfecting;
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protecting personal space; and
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vaccinating.
Today, I offer our community five important reminders. First, testing remains essential. During the fall semester, we tested more than 5,000 students a week. We also conducted random testing of faculty, staff, and essential vendors on campus. Our testing protocols will continue to evolve, with more frequent testing aimed at ensuring we respond to new infections as effectively as possible.
Second, our choices matter. They matter not only for our own health, but that of our families, friends, and colleagues. The initial choice before our students was whether to learn remotely or on campus. I am encouraged that many students who chose the remote option in the fall will be returning to campus for the spring. However, I want to reemphasize that for students with pre-existing medical conditions identified by the CDC as risk factors for COVID-19, the remote option is the correct choice. As vaccine distribution continues over the spring and summer, we remain hopeful these students will be able to join us on campus next fall.
Third, communication and transparency are paramount. If you have questions, ask. For our part, we have continued to make improvements to the dashboard we unveiled in the fall and remain committed to sharing information as quickly as possible. The pandemic will end, yet as with any evolving situation, knowledge is power. One of the best ways we can protect one another is to stay informed.
Fourth, we will continue to prioritize safety when it comes to events. We have developed guidelines to be able to safely host some in-person activities this semester, and we will continue to adhere to the Miami-Dade County curfew, which is currently 12 midnight.
Finally, we will continue to strive to be a part of the solutions to this unprecedented challenge. UHealth and the Miller School of Medicine have been at the forefront of combatting the virus with cutting-edge research and treating patients with high-quality care. Like in the fall, we will continue to offer a personalized medicine program to treat in a timely and effective manner any member of the UM community who may need it. We are leveraging our academic health system and our research expertise to fight this global pandemic.
Confident as we are in our past experience, our accumulated expertise, and our current plans, we are keenly aware of the challenges that still lie ahead. To begin with, we know that COVID fatigue is real. In fact, during the fall semester, we had nearly the same number of infections during the last three weeks on campus as we had in the 11 weeks prior. In addition, with new, more contagious variants already circulating in the U.S., the risks of infection are higher than ever.
I cannot emphasize enough the need to continue to adhere strictly to the preventive measures that have served us so well until now: mandatory use of face covering in all public spaces, maintaining safe distance, constant practice of hand hygiene, and avoidance of large gatherings.
Like in the fall we will continue to rely on three mechanisms to assure adherence to these protocols: persuasion through inspiration; positive peer pressure; and sanctions for those who put the safety and education of others at risk. For instance, we have increased the number of student public health ambassadors from 75 to 100 for the spring, and our staff and Dean of Students will continue to follow up on any reports of students not abiding by the measures in place to keep everyone healthy.
The fight against the pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint. I trust you have taken the extended winter break to prepare for the next leg of the race. We are excited to welcome you back to campus and to eventually crossing the finish line together.
We are one U. |
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