Campus Update - UAlbany Forward Together

Dear UAlbany Community:

New York state is making plans to reopen, and so is the University at Albany. Like all colleges and universities, though, we must have contingency plans to adapt to changing conditions related to COVID-19. Of course, every step we take will be guided by our top priority: protecting the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff. Our decisions will also be governed by federal, state and SUNY guidelines.

As you know, we recently launched the UAlbany Forward Together planning initiative, which has engaged 175 faculty, staff, and students to prepare for a range of possible fall scenarios. While our top choice is to offer in-person instruction, we are also creating the flexibility to allow for a hybrid of in-person and remote teaching and learning, which is the most likely scenario for the fall. However, given the current uncertainty regarding COVID-19, I strongly encourage faculty to create course content for the fall that can be delivered online or remotely.

The UAlbany Forward Together Steering Committee and its working groups will provide detailed recommendations to me by the end of May, and in early to mid-June, I will share with the University community our plan for reopening our campuses. Between now and then, we will provide additional updates, as needed.

Our ultimate goal, no matter the medium of instruction, is to create a learning and research environment for our students that is intellectually challenging, socially engaging and—above all—focused on the health and well-being of our campus community.

To mark the end of this unprecedented semester, I invite you to participate in the OneUAlbany Graduation Celebration on Saturday, May 16 at 7:00 p.m., which will be a very special opportunity to celebrate our students’ success!

As always, thank you all so much for your patience, flexibility and engagement as we continue to move forward together.

Sincerely

Havidán Rodríguez
President