About Manchester


Weekly Update - September 17

 

From: President <President@manchester.edu>
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2020 9:58 AM
To: All Colleagues <AllColleagues@manchester.edu>
Subject: Weekly update - Sept. 17

Dear Colleagues,

This week’s update is short. Most of us have settled into a rhythm this fall semester and are proving to be adaptable when things don’t go exactly according to plan.

Flu shots: As I reported last week, we are providing flu shots free of charge and I urge you to take advantage of that opportunity. Typical COVID-19 symptoms are much like cold and flu symptoms. As we enter cold and flu season, it may be difficult to tell them apart. Getting a flu shot helps mitigate one health risk, helps protect our loved ones, and may ease the burden on our health care providers.

The first round of flu shot appointments on the North Manchester campus has been filled. Please look for an email regarding additional appointment times for flu shots.

Reopen Work Group: The group that planned so thoroughly for our reopening in early August is now considering what our spring semester might look like. As you can imagine, there are numerous unknowns: If and when a vaccine will be available, how testing might be improved as we move forward, and what additional therapeutic treatments might be available by then.

The bottom line, unfortunately, is that we don’t expect that we will be back to normal by spring. With that in mind, the group is looking at lessons from this fall’s experience as we make plans for the spring. We will share decisions as soon as we can so that you can make your own spring plans.

I shared with trustees last week that we are seeing a high rate of compliance with wearing masks and social distancing. I added that we needed a better word than “compliance” to describe what we are all doing. They offered any number of suggestions and my favorite is “responsible.” We are all acting responsibly in light of the pandemic – and I am grateful. Thank you!

Dave

Dave McFadden
President
Manchester University
260-982-5050