Dear Roadrunners,
Congratulations to all of you for successfully completing the spring 2020 semester! I know it was an extraordinary and often challenging experience for us all, and I am deeply proud of this community.
Our planning to re-open our campuses this fall is moving forward at a rapid pace. Putting appropriate best practice public health parameters into place to protect the health of all Roadrunners is critical to these efforts. Our tactical teams have been charged with developing plans that are heavily shaped by these best practices intended to reduce the virus’s spread.
To help guide their efforts, I am pleased to announce that I have appointed a new Public Health Task Force. In addition to closely following the guidance we receive from UT System, the State of Texas and other higher education entities, the task force will work closely with a three-member Public Health Expert Advisory Group. Together they will recommend appropriate public health best practices specific to UTSA operations regarding personal protective equipment, social distancing, contact tracing, testing, groups at risk and many related matters.
My thanks in advance to task force co-chairs Bernard Arulanandam, vice president for research, economic development and knowledge enterprise and Lynne Cossman, dean of the College of Health, Community and Policy—as well as the members of the task force and the expert advisory group—for the time and energy they will put into this critically important work. I will formally charge the task force and request a report from them by June 8th, 2020.
As always, I promise to keep you all updated as our fall planning evolves. Thank you once again for persevering through an unprecedented semester, and for rising to the occasion in the most creative, phenomenal ways.
With appreciation, Taylor Eighmy President |