Dear KCU Faculty and Staff,
As we start this academic year, we find ourselves challenged by the dynamic nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the spike in cases in our region from the highly contagious Delta variant has greatly strained our health care resources as younger, predominantly unvaccinated patients fill hospitals across Missouri.
We continue to assess the situation daily in both our Kansas City and Joplin communities. As we have demonstrated throughout the pandemic, we remain cautious, flexible and also dynamic, with plans in place to tighten and loosen restrictions as needed to ensure the safety of our students, faculty and staff. I wanted to provide a few updates related to our university based upon our region’s current situation.
As you’re aware from Dr. O’Connor’s message last Friday, we have postponed our Class of 2025 white coating ceremonies scheduled for Aug. 12 and 16, out of concerns over the spread of the virus with any large, uncontrolled gatherings indoors, even by asymptomatic vaccinated individuals.
We will also be postponing the required return to campus for all non-student-facing employees from September 7 to October 4. For those faculty and staff whose positions require you to be on campus, we will continue to provide flexibility as determined by your department chair or work unit manager. This postponement will allow us time to track the impact of this fourth wave of the pandemic in our region and the various mitigation approaches necessary to slow or stop the spread.
Finally, we are condensing our ad-hoc response teams into a single cross-functional health and safety advisory committee that will meet regularly to guide best practice decisions related to COVID-19 and other health and safety issues and oversee protocols affecting students and employees.
I am proud that our teams have done an excellent job keeping our KCU community safe, and I thank each of you for your ongoing hard work and efforts. The situation is not as critical as it was a year ago, but we are not out of the woods yet. We now have a weapon against the spread of this virus. If you have not already been vaccinated, I strongly encourage you to consider doing so.
If you have any questions, please speak with your department supervisor, Human Resources or email [email protected]. Stay safe and protect those around you, especially the most vulnerable.
Yours truly,
