Dear Lawrence Community,
We hope that everyone’s summer is off to a great start! We write today to share updates on our plan for Fall 2022, including arrival protocols. Like last year, we will start the academic year fully in-person. This means that all curricular and co-curricular activities will proceed using each room’s full capacity limits.
Arriving on Campus
New and returning students, including our Community Advisors, international students, and fall student athletes, will begin to arrive on a rolling basis in mid-August, with new student arrival scheduled for Monday, September 5, and returning student arrival scheduled for Saturday, September 10.
Please note the following arrival protocols:
- All new and returning students are encouraged to be tested within 72 hours prior to traveling to campus.
- In addition, all students will be tested upon their arrival on campus.
- Employees may be tested in the fall at their discretion.
More information regarding testing protocols will be shared later this summer.
Masking Protocols
Lawrence currently requires masking in all indoor public spaces, but we also understand that the pandemic will continue to evolve over the summer. Specific masking protocols for the fall will be determined by Lawrence Pandemic Planning Team closer to the start of fall term, based on the status of the virus on- and off-campus at that time. We will share information with our community as soon as a decision is made.
Vaccination Protocols
With more than 90% of the Lawrence community fully vaccinated and boosted, we continue to meet the CDC’s definition of an institution of higher education with a fully vaccinated community. As we have learned over the last year, vaccination is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves healthy and reduce the severity of a COVID-19 infection. As such, all new members of the Lawrence community, including both students and employees, are required to be fully vaccinated and boosted prior to your arrival on campus. Exemptions are granted to individuals based on a medical condition, strong religious or sincerely held belief, or personal conviction.
Students are required to provide this information to Wellness Services at WellnessServices@lawrence.edu, and employees are required to provide this information to Human Resources at Humanresources@lawrence.edu. For additional information please reach out to either Wellness Services or Human Resources.
Honor the Pledge
One of the principles that has continued to facilitate our success mitigating the virus is the Lawrence Campus Community Pledge, which outlines the living, learning, and working tenets for all in our campus community. We will continue to Honor the Pledge this fall and encourage new members of our community to familiarize themselves with the Pledge before coming to campus. Highlights include:
- Vaccination and testing (as needed) adherence.
- Commitment to follow masking protocols.
- Quarantine and isolation protocols.
- Encouragement to stay home if feeling ill or wearing a mask if one must be on campus.
Campus Guests & Visitors
We will continue to welcome guests and visitors from outside the Lawrence community to campus for events and performances. When hosting or attending indoor campus events that include non-Lawrence community members (e.g., recital, athletics event, performance), we may require all spectators and/or participants (depending on the event) to wear masks. Again, more information regarding our guest policy will be shared prior to the start of the academic year.
Please stay tuned for future messages as the fall approaches and remember to visit—our bookmark—the COVID-19 News blog at https://blogs.lawrence.edu/covid-19/ for all current information regarding pandemic protocols. Please also send questions to coronainfo@lawrence.edu.
We look forward to welcoming new and returning students, faculty, and staff this fall.
Be well and stay well,
Lawrence Pandemic Planning Team
