April 29, 2021

Students and Colleagues, The march to normalcy is underway and our students, faculty and staff are helping lead the way! Fifty-seven percent of respondents to our university vaccination survey have reported they have joined me, all our presidents, and the law school dean in getting at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. A significant majority of our community -- 73% of survey respondents -- have said they plan to get vaccinated. We know this is our shot to end the pandemic and return to a more normal college experience. With new research on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and a better understanding of the benefits of being vaccinated, we are striving for even higher levels of voluntary participation in the vaccination program. We are following the science and are now providing one more incentive to get vaccinated. Fully vaccinated members of the University community will be exempt from weekly COVID-19 testing required of everyone participating in an on-campus experience this spring and summer. We will continue our weekly asymptomatic testing, tracing and isolation strategies beyond the end of the spring semester for those of us working and learning on a campus. Members of our community who voluntarily provide verification that they are fully vaccinated will not be required to participate in our asymptomatic testing program and are exempt from quarantining if they are a close contact of someone known to have COVID-19. If you are fully vaccinated please visit the volunteer vaccination submission form on our COVID-19 Testing Tracker so you can report your status. It's fast, easy, confidential, and doing so ends the requirement that you test weekly to participate in on-campus activities.

Click Here for Voluntary Vaccination Verification

Get Vaccinated:  Click Here for Community Clinics

Departure Testing and Continued Adherence to Safety Practices If you have been a member of our on-campus population and will be traveling home at the end of the semester, please get tested next week. Knowing your COVID-19 status before you travel protects those around you and the community and loved ones you are returning to. You have been showing up all semester to keep yourself and our community safe. Let's finish our time Together for Maine this spring safe and smart by getting one last test -- a departure test. And please continue -- as you have done all year -- following the safety practices that have kept us together as safely as possible throughout the pandemic. Wear your face coverings indoors or when you cannot be safely distanced outside, wash your hands, stay away from large gatherings, and get vaccinated as soon as you can. I am proud of how our community has stepped up to help lead Maine's public health campaign. If we keep at it, life on campus in the fall will be closer to what we yearn for from before the pandemic. It is up to us to make it happen. Thank you for all your commitment to keeping our universities safe through the year. And for our students, I wish you good luck with your final exams, projects, and papers as the semester comes to a close.

Dannel P. Malloy Chancellor

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