Campus Colleagues,

I hope you are all doing well and you had an enjoyable Memorial Day holiday. As we move toward returning to campus, I’d like to encourage you all to follow these current CDC recommendations in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• When in public (including campus), wear a cloth face covering over your nose and mouth.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Stay at least six feet apart from other people.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue.
• Do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

I strongly encourage you all to wear cloth masks when working or meeting in close proximity to others. Guidelines and recommendations may change and evolve.

Items that will be purchased for areas of campus include (please allow for supply chain delays):

• Hand sanitizer
• Hand sanitizing stations (ideally touch free)
• Disinfectant wipes
• Cleaning supplies (sanitizing spray and towels)
• Plexiglass shields
• A limited, one-time supply of cloth masks for campus staff and faculty
• Disposable masks (for campus guests or in case you forget one)
• Disposable gloves (for areas of campus that require in-person interaction)
• Signage (CDC guidance)
• Tape for marking floors (foot traffic)
• No-hand door openers
• Stanchions or rope to help with traffic flow

Other items may be requested and will need to route through campus and state procurement processes and policies.

Through the Return-to-Campus and Academic Planning Fall 2020 Taskforces, I want to thank you for providing ideas and feedback on how we can make Northern a safer community for ourselves and our students. I especially want to thank the facilities team for their quick work on implementing many of these ideas, including no-hand door openers and Plexiglass throughout numerous areas of campus.

As we return to campus and discover new and safe methods of operation, I want to strongly encourage you to follow all of the recommendations listed above. These recommendations are for your protection as well as others. As you’re aware, we’re a close-knit community and campus, which is why I encourage us all to take care of one another. While you or your family may not have concerns about COVID-19, please keep in mind there are many people who do, including members of our campus community.

We will all need to work together in order to provide a safe and healthy campus experience for each other and our students; an experience that includes academic rigor and inquiry, even though that may look very different from what it has in the past.

For questions on return-to-work policies, please visit northern.edu/coronavirus.

Thank you for your efforts.

Please take care of yourselves and Go Wolves!

-President Downs