Dear students,
Thank you everyone for completing the summer 2021 housing survey. In total, just 15 out of a possible 426 students and faculty indicated a wish to live on campus. Also, only 85 students and faculty indicated that they are living or plan to live within commuting distance and would like to access campus. Unfortunately, with these low numbers, it would not make sense for us to host any students or faculty on campus this summer or to offer a testing program for local students and faculty. This means that students and faculty can come onto the campus and use the outdoor spaces following our Culture of Care commitment and campus protocols but will not be able to enter campus buildings.
We know that both of these decisions will be disappointing for some of you. We did not make them lightly. We feel that these are the most equitable decisions for all given the sizable expense and infrastructure required to open up housing and dining and provide a COVID testing, quarantine and isolation program for less than ¼ of our students and faculty. We believe that our attention would be better focused on continued student financial support.
I was hoping that we would be able to be together on campus this summer. I share your disappointment. Even though this is not feasible right now, I’m excited for us to come together remotely, to welcome our new faculty and to find ways to (re)create a caring learning community in deep alignment with our Core Principles.
Sincerely,
Marianne R.M. Yoshioka, MBA, Ph.D., LCSW
Dean and Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor
Co-editor, Smith College Studies in Social Work
Smith College School for Social Work
