Saint Mary’s will begin in-person classes Aug. 10, eliminating fall break and completing the semester before Thanksgiving, Interim President Nancy Nekvasil and President-Elect Katie Conboy announced in an email to students Friday.
“We are deeply committed to ensuring the well-being of our campus community, and we will require that additional protective measures be put into place on campus to enhance the safety of all campus constituencies, and especially vulnerable populations,” the email said.
Friday’s decision follows plans announced by Notre Dame and Holy Cross for an early start and conclusion of the fall semester. According to the email, aligning the academic calendar is necessary as many students take classes within the tri-campus community.
“We look forward to working as a tri-college community to address these challenges,” the email said. “For the next five weeks we will continue to finalize details of our plan — re-imagining what daily life will be like for faculty, staff and students.”
Nekvasil and Conboy reminded students this plan is subject to change and is contingent upon the state of the pandemic and access to testing and diagnostics come August.
