Dear St. Francis College community,

I know many of you are thinking about what's ahead for fall 2021, as the weather warms up and we head toward the end of the 2020-21 academic year. I'm happy to share that, barring anything unforeseen, we will be largely back on campus this fall semester.

That means that, come September, just over one-half of all courses will be taught in person in classrooms and labs at 180 Remsen Street, that our library, cafeteria and other campus facilities will be open for the SFC community; that we will host live special events including those with guest speakers; and that student clubs and organizations will be able to meet on campus.

It also means that much of our faculty and staff will be working in their on-campus offices, although many employees will likely continue remote work periodically.

While we are excited that so many members of our community will be on campus this fall, please know that we will likely still have rules in place – like mask wearing, social distancing and limiting the number of people on campus or in certain rooms or other spaces at one time – that help protect everyone's health and safety while inside campus buildings.

We will determine our exact fall 2021 campus rules as we're closer to the start of the semester and can assess the COVID-19 situation and ensure we're following state and city guidelines. We will keep you updated on those plans as they develop.

For several years, SFC has worked on increasing the amount of remote learning opportunities available to our students. These plans haven't changed, so even as we return to "normal" we will have a bigger selection of online and hybrid courses in fall 2021 than before the pandemic, as well as a calendar of special events that we will continue to host online.

This past year has enhanced our ability to teach online – and students' ability to learn that way – so we're excited to apply all the tools and skills we've acquired to provide this kind of flexibility to students.

Please keep an eye on your email, as College leaders will be in contact with you to provide more details about fall 2021. Students will hear more about how courses and other College functions will operate, and employees will hear how we plan to transition back to an in-person work environment in the months leading up to the start of fall semester.

I want to thank all of you for the dedication and perseverance you have demonstrated this past year. We will have more to share about exciting plans for next academic year and beyond and you'll hear from us soon about those, too. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing many of you at 180 Remsen Street this fall. Have a great remainder of spring 2021.

In Peace and Friendship,

Miguel Martinez-Saenz