Dear members of the Acadia community,
As we approach the Labour Day weekend, I expect that, like me, you are experiencing mixed emotions of excitement and trepidation as the start of a fall term like no other draws near.
It is truly an unprecedented time for us all. The levels of uncertainty remain high despite our hard work to reduce and mitigate the challenges and risks. I am so proud of how the Acadia community has come together, first to establish and then maintain a clear path towards recovery from the impacts of this ongoing pandemic. It was always going to be a difficult journey and one that would necessarily be travelled together.
No matter what part you are playing in the re-opening effort, the fact is that everyone has risen to the task.
Whether you are deep-cleaning our buildings or preparing our campus to welcome students under strict pandemic regulations; redesigning classes for online or hybrid delivery; recruiting, registering, and supporting our students; or engaging with alumni, donors, government, and external community members – every aspect of our re-opening and recovery plan depends on you and your exceptional efforts.
Recently, I donned my Acadia-branded face mask to tour campus and to see preparations for myself. I am so impressed with the work accomplished to date. Directional and informational signage, reduced room capacities, enhanced cleaning, and mandatory masks combine to provide safe and effective use of our facilities. Using wireless contact tracing and video surveillance will also help track and minimize community spread.
Despite some tough decisions required along the way, we are now in a critically important phase as students begin to join us in-person and online. I am very grateful to the Acadia Students’ Union, Town of Wolfville, and other partners for their collaboration and ongoing efforts to take care of everyone in our community.
Safely re-opening our campus depends on all of us, and especially our students. Together, we all must follow public health and University regulations of daily symptom checking, increased hygiene, wearing face masks, and physically distancing. For nearly 500 students entering Nova Scotia from outside Atlantic Canada – they must also self-isolate for 14 days, check-in with Public Health daily, and have three COVID-19 tests.
My sincere thanks to the Government of Nova Scotia, and especially Public Health, for the asymptomatic post-secondary student testing program and for relocating the regional symptomatic COVID-19 testing centre to the University Club on 17 Westwood Avenue. Thanks also to the UClub (of which I am a member) and the executive for helping make that happen.
The strict testing and self-isolation protocols put in place by the Province of Nova Scotia are critical to the success of our plan. We will inevitably see positive test cases as students travel to campus. The important fact is that if these cases are immediately identified through testing, then they can be contained, and the likelihood of community spread can be reduced to a minimum. This is part and parcel of living with the virus and what will make our communities resilient and capable of recovering from the worst impacts of the pandemic.
I am confident that we are well prepared to welcome our students to campus and the community with virtual open arms. Their health and safety and the health and safety of all others are top of mind. By continuing to work together, we will get through the initial transition period and be well-positioned to have a safe and enjoyable fall term experience for everyone.
This Labour Day weekend will be very different from the usual move-in and welcome weekend. However, we will make it special for all the students as they arrive and self-isolate, and we look forward to welcoming Atlantic Canadian students who don’t need to self-isolate in a couple of weeks. Again my thanks to everyone for making this all come together.
Please find time to take care of yourself over the long weekend. And, remember – Together, we can do this! In fact, together, we are doing this!
