Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

Today we made an important decision to extend remote learning for the rest of the semester. We also are taking actions to close our residence halls.

The COVID-19 situation continues to evolve quickly and dramatically. A week ago, we believed reducing the density of people on campus would get us through the coming weeks. We held out hope we could return to in-person learning and finish out the semester on campus. However, with the continued spread of the virus and our expectation that more areas of operation may be restricted by government order, we do not believe returning to in-person learning this semester is possible. Further, we are increasingly concerned about being able to sustain adequate services for the students remaining on campus. We also need to take steps to protect the health and safety of our faculty and staff.
 
Please watch this video for more information about our rationale for these decisions.

Students will get another email communication tonight with more details about what this means both for those who are still on campus and those who have already left. I am going to copy faculty and staff on that email as well.

I also want to be clear that we are not closing campus. The work of faculty and staff continues as we support students in moving off campus and as we transition to remote learning.

I know this is hard. This is not the ending to the academic year we had planned for. But our community rises in moments like these and I know this is the right decision to protect the health of our students, faculty, staff and broader Denison community.  

Adam Weinberg
President
Denison University