From: Ka Yee C. Lee, Provost
Date: April 24, 2020
Since mid-March, our community has worked tirelessly on the transition to remote learning and teaching, and to maintain University operations while dramatically reducing the number of people present on our campus. Yesterday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that the state is extending its "stay at home" order through May 30, and we will continue to ensure that the University complies with this important measure to limit the spread of coronavirus.
We all eagerly await a time when we can resume more in-person activities at our Hyde Park campus, with the understanding that forms of social distancing and other preventative measures are likely to be necessary for the foreseeable future. While our community and the City of Chicago have made encouraging progress, many unknowns remain about what course the global pandemic will take in the coming months. All University classes will continue to be conducted remotely through the Spring and Summer Quarters, and University travel remains restricted until further notice. I wanted to share some considerations as we look ahead in the coming months:
- The health and safety of our community remains a paramount priority.
- Planning for the Autumn Quarter, scheduled to begin on September 29, is under active discussion, and we will need further information to make a final decision. We plan to make a decision by the end of June.
- As with organizations and governments across the country, a number of factors will affect how we resume activities at our Hyde Park campus and other locations. We will continue to follow the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local public health officials and our own Medical Center experts.
- We will keep you updated as we get more information and select a final course of action for the coming months and Autumn Quarter. Thank you for your ongoing work in adapting to these challenging circumstances, and for your dedication to our shared mission of research and education.