Clarion University is planning to open this fall with normal operations. Students will resume learning in face-to-face classes, living in residence halls, and staying busy with campus events and activities. When classes begin Aug. 23, more than 17 months will have passed since Clarion students, along with their peers across the country, moved to remote learning.
The shift to remote learning significantly impacted our campus and our community. Missing was the positive impact of our students volunteering, working, shopping, and dining in our community.
Campus was mostly empty, and the resources students needed to study were strained. The limited access across rural Pennsylvania to reliable, high-speed broadband Internet and technology has never been more evident.
Clarion faculty and staff went above and beyond to assist students and make a difference in their lives and in our community. In a time where very little was normal, this outreach was our shared natural reaction. Our students persevered and graduated.
Our faculty and staff came together, remotely, of course, to provide the best level of support possible. It was difficult, but together, we pulled through. Over the course of the last year and a half, we have slowly, following CDC and state guidelines, brought more students back to campus.
We opened residence halls and offered more in-person classes. Our campus community has followed recommended safety protocols. We have worn masks, practiced social distancing, and washed and sanitized our hands. Last semester, we conducted more than 4,100 COVID-19 surveillance tests of students on a random and rotating basis.
In short, we used the tools we had at our disposal to protect our students, faculty, staff, and the Clarion community. As we prepare for the fall semester, the importance of health and safety protocols is on our minds.
We know more about how to protect ourselves and those around us. And we have an additional tool: the COVID-19 vaccine. We know from the CDC that COVID-19 vaccines are effective and can protect individuals from getting and spreading the virus; they also help to prevent serious illness if a person does contract COVID-19.
To those who have gotten the vaccine, thank you. I urge those who have not been vaccinated to consider making an appointment for inoculation against COVID-19. It is time for all of us to do our part to keep our community healthy. Together, we can keep students and faculty in the classroom, meeting for coffee and shopping in the borough. Back to normal.
By Jim Geiger
Vice President, University Advancement
Clarion University
The opinions and statements made in this feature are those of the authoring organization and not necessarily those of Venango Newspapers.
