Fiat Inspiration
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we must continue to be diligent in our efforts to mitigate the effect of the virus on our campus and in the local community.
Our diligence includes following all federal, state, and local health care policies related to controlling COVID-19. The White House Coronavirus Task Force announced last evening that it is recommending that people traveling from and/or through the New York City metro area should self-quarantine for 14 days to ensure that they do not pass on the virus in the areas to which they are traveling. Alfred University is requiring anyone who has traveled or is traveling to our campus from the New York City metro Area to abide by the White House’s self-quarantine recommendation.
Our policy will remain in effect until we receive guidance directing otherwise from state and national health agencies. Our University has established quarantine areas on campus for anyone to whom this guidance applies, and any visitors must contact the Wellness Center before they arrive on campus. The phone number for the Wellness Center is 607-871-2400.
Please be reminded that all members of our Alfred University community—students, faculty, and staff—who have traveled since March 1 and returned to campus are required to complete the online travel documentation survey. Any residential student who has been approved to remain on campus or approved for a late departure must complete this form.
We continue to urge members of our University community to maintain social distancing and appropriate personal hygiene practices. There is a small number of students who remain on our campus to whom we are providing room and board. The University has taken steps to ensure that providing meals to these students is done in a manner that meets their needs and promotes their safety and well-being.
For those students remaining on campus, boxed meals are offered at Powell Café, pickup only. Beginning tomorrow (Thursday, March 26), meals can be picked up at the Powell Café between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Lunch and dinner, and the next day’s breakfast will be available for pickup during those times.Yesterday, the remaining on-campus students received a survey to determine how many have refrigerators and microwaves needed to keep meals cold and heat them up. This survey is also assisting our Residence Life staff with determining our on-campus students’ housing needs and how best to meet them.
Students who do not have a meal plan can purchase meals with cash or a credit/debit card. Please contact John Dietrich, director of food services, at Powell Café (607-871-2248) for more information.
Our meal policy helps promote social distancing, which is key to our efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We urge all members of the Alfred University community to keep this practice in mind. By embracing personal responsibility, we can make a meaningful impact on the broader battle against COVID-19.
University employees who remain on campus to perform essential duties, as well as any students who remain on campus or live off campus and have chosen to stay in Alfred, have an obligation to maintain prudent social distancing practices. Please be mindful that we share a relatively small space with local residents, many of them elderly, and that we must be sensitive to their concerns.
Another item of note: our University has updated its list of contacts on our website. Please use this list to reach out to us as we continue to work from our off-campus locations.
In closing, please join me in thanking the essential staff who have remained working on campus. Please also join me in expressing sincere gratitude for the patience and understanding that all members of the Alfred University community have shown during this difficult time. The departure of students from our campus over the weekend was calm and orderly. The resilience being displayed by our students, faculty, and staff as we have moved so quickly over the last two weeks toward an online learning model has been nothing short of remarkable. So, too, has been fortitude shown by so many of our faculty and staff with their transition, since this Monday, to working from home.
Let’s keep bringing the light during this challenging time.
Fiat Inspiration!
Mark