Editor’s note: The following message was sent to the campus community by CSU President Joyce McConnell on March 11.

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

With the courageous commitment of our Colorado State University community, CSU has faced many challenges. Today, we face a global health crisis in which we can play a critical role by slowing transmission of COVID-19 and freeing our local hospital to treat the critically ill. We can and must do our part to safeguard the health of our entire community. I thank all of you in advance for your compassion for others and patience in navigating a complex situation.

We have no knowledge of any cases of COVID-19 associated either with our residence halls or with the university more broadly.

Nevertheless, as you know, we are in daily consultation with public health officials at local, state and national levels and following their science-based guidance. As a result, we are taking the following steps immediately to do our part, which includes the following:

Classes Moving Online: Spring Break for students and faculty will be extended through Tuesday, March 24, with classes resuming Wednesday, March 25, as follows:

• Classes at all levels will be delivered online beginning Wednesday, March 25.
• Online teaching and course delivery will remain in effect until April 10. We will re-evaluate and issue further guidelines in advance of that date.
• Individual academic units will follow up with their students regarding accommodations for accessibility issues—including online and computer access, internships, laboratory classes, and other special circumstances.

Our fundamental mission is to educate our students and we are committed to preserving their educational access, opportunity and success for the remainder of this semester, regardless of circumstances.

Campus Operations: Campus operations will remain at normal levels. University buildings will operate as follows:

• The CSU Health Network will be open regular hours, including over Spring Break, to see students for medical and counseling concerns.
• Residence halls, university apartments, and dining halls will remain open as usual, including over Spring Break.
• The Lory Student Center, Student Rec Center, UCA, and all academic, business, and service buildings will remain open for business as usual.
• The Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Diagnostic Lab will remain open for business as usual.
• The Morgan Library will be open for campus community members only.

We will provide guidance for employees who need to work remotely; this will be shared soon.

University Travel: All university international and domestic travel that has not yet commenced is suspended effective March 23 through April 10. We will re-evaluate and issue further guidelines in advance of that date. Exceptions may be granted based on critical need. More information on the exception process will be shared soon.

On-Campus Events: All university events involving 20 or more external visitors or targeted toward an at-risk population are suspended effective March 23 through April 10. We will re-evaluate and issue further guidelines in advance of that date. Exceptions may be granted based on significant need. More information about the exception process will be shared soon.

Off-campus Events: All university-hosted off-campus events involving 20 or more people or targeted toward an at-risk population are suspended effective March 23 through April 10. We will re-evaluate and issue further guidelines in advance of that date. Exceptions may be granted based on significant need. More information about the exception process will be shared soon.

These actions will obviously have a profound effect on our campus. In the coming days, we will be working through the many questions that will emerge from these immediate actions to provide additional guidance and clarity.

I fully understand the burden this puts on many in our community who will have to rearrange plans and rework how they conduct the university’s daily business. I deeply appreciate the hard work so many of you have done and will continue to do throughout this public health crisis.

Confronting the challenges of a public health emergency like this creates discomfort and anxiety. Please know that Colorado State University is no stranger to responding to unexpected events that cause disruption in our lives and require that we dramatically and quickly alter our established paths. We have done so successfully in the past, and we will do so successfully again now.

We will continue to provide updates and guidance as soon and as often as possible via email, social media, and athttp://safety.colostate.edu/coronavirus.

I am thankful for each of you. I want you all to stay safe and healthy during this difficult situation.  That is our primary goal, now and always, at CSU.  Please take care of yourselves, of your friends and families, and of those in our community to whom you have the capacity to reach out with compassion.

We are strong.  We are resilient.  We are Rams.  We will get through this—together.

Thank you,

Joyce McConnell