91̽»¨

This message was shared with the University community on April 1, 2021.

Dear Bobcat Community,

Great news!

As announced this afternoon by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, the state of Ohio will begin delivery of vaccines to all of its college and university campuses, including 91̽»¨, in the coming days. As a result, beginning late next week, 91̽»¨ will host COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Athens for OHIO students who want to be vaccinated.

This is incredible news that will have wide-sweeping impact on our students, their families, their home communities, and our University community.

The student vaccination program will use the one-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, which is ideal for students whose college schedules or summer plans may make it difficult for them to return for a second dose. The state will make weekly deliveries of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for each of the next three weeks.

To all our Bobcat students – I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity not only to protect your own health but also to protect your family and your University community. While many students may not be at high risk of complications from the virus, young adults contribute significantly to community spread of the virus.

In addition to contributing to public health, your participation in the vaccination program will help us to move toward a more normal fall semester while minimizing risk to our communities.

Student vaccine clinics will begin next week at Heritage Hall on the 91̽»¨ Athens campus. Students on any OHIO campus are welcome to attend the Athens-based clinics. The University is exploring whether allocations will be available for regional campuses at a later date. Dates and times will be available soon, and students will receive texts and emails from COVID Operations with details on clinic dates and times, and an access code for making an appointment online. Like all COVID-19 vaccines being administered everywhere in the United States, there is no cost for the vaccine.

Athens City-County Health Department (ACCHD) staff and nurses will manage the campus clinics, with volunteer support from the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and the College of Health Sciences and Professions School of Nursing.

I want to thank Gov. DeWine for his leadership and our partners at ACCHD who have collaborated with us since the beginning of the pandemic to ensure students, faculty, staff and community members were safe and had the right resources available. In January, the University welcomed ACCHD to hold community vaccination clinics in Heritage Hall, and we will continue our partnership as we deliver vaccines to OHIO students.

Although public health guidelines for distancing within classrooms have not yet changed, we are closely watching potential shifts in those guidelines as we look toward fall. With that in mind, the Provost has asked our Fall Curriculum Planning group to re-review course delivery methods before Course Offerings go live. Colleges and campuses are identifying classes that could be moved from online to in-person should guidelines change, and we will ensure that those classes are scheduled with meeting patterns so that students’ schedules can remain intact. As a reminder, we were already planning for a significant majority of classes to be delivered face-to-face, but any changes to guidance around in-classroom distancing would enable us to extend that even further. Priority registration dates and times will be emailed to students on Monday, and Fall 2021 Course Offerings will be available on Wednesday, April 7.

This is a moment to celebrate, Bobcats. Ensuring our students are vaccinated is a huge step forward toward a return to the collaborative, experiential learning environment we all crave and that OHIO is known for delivering. Make sure to watch for follow up messages from OHIO COVID Operations and schedule your vaccination!

As always, Be Safe Bobcats,
M. Duane Nellis
President