March 12, 2020
Dear Purdue Community,
First, my thanks for all of the actions being taken to support our response to COVID-19. President Daniels and I have appreciated the ‘can do’ attitude expressed by our students, staff, and faculty over the past couple of days – your resolve and support has been truly impressive and deeply appreciated. Your many questions have been helpful and we would continue to point you to the COVID-19 website for answers to those questions. We are updating it frequently, so please check back often.
Given the events of the past 48 hours, I write to share some additional information with you. As President Daniels indicated in his earlier letter, ‘we are eager to return to the normal business of Purdue as soon as it is medically and scientifically justified’. We will make that decision no later than Monday, March 30, and if we do decide to resume face-to-face instruction, we would start on Monday, April 6. To be clear, by March 30, we will either commit to remote instruction for the rest of the semester, or we will resume face-to-face instruction on April 6. We are hopeful this date is helpful for your planning purposes.
Please know that our residence halls will remain open and food service will be available throughout the semester. That said, every student can leave campus knowing that classes will be delivered remotely from March 23-April 3, and that by March 30, will let you know whether or not we will be holding face-to-face classes this semester.
Another important update for today: The CDC has raised the travel designation for most European countries to Level 3 for coronavirus . In addition, President Trump has signed a proclamation that suspends the entry of most foreign nationals who have been in these European countries at any point during the 14 days prior to their arrival in the United States. Given this development, Purdue faculty, staff and students returning from these Level 3 countries must self-quarantine for 14 days before they return to campus. In addition, the university will delay arrival of other visitors from the affected countries.
Again, my thanks to each of you for all you will do to help us navigate this challenging situation successfully. We will continue to keep you informed to the best of our ability and urge you to check the website often for help answering your questions and for updates.
Best regards,
Jay T. Akridge Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity