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Syracuse University plans to begin spring semester classes on Jan. 25, though plans may change depending on public health conditions, Chancellor Kent Syverud said at a virtual University Senate meeting Wednesday.

The university is ready to adjust its plans to prioritize the health and safety of students, faculty and the central New York community as COVID-19 cases surge across Onondaga County and the United States, Syverud said.

“We have to be ready to change course depending on the conditions at the time,” Syverud said. “Our goal does remain to begin the spring semester on Jan. 25.”

If the university opts to switch to remote learning for the spring semester, the decision will be made weeks in advance so students can plan properly, Syverud said.

SU will also need to double its COVID-19 testing capacity before the spring semester begins, Syverud said. SU has conducted over 115,000 tests throughout the fall semester, and detecting positive COVID-19 cases early has proven critical to preventing the spread of the coronavirus on campus, he said.

The university will also modify the Stay Safe Pledge, which sets public health guidelines and rules for students, before the semester begins. A majority of students complied with the fall semester public health guidelines, he said.

SU will also use the Carrier Dome and the newly-renovated Schine Student Center to make up for the absence of outdoor tents the university used for teaching and meeting in the fall.

“The spring is going to present very different circumstances than the fall,” he said. “Therefore it is going to call for careful decision making and a different response.”

Former United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s review of SU’s Department of Public Safety is “rapidly nearing conclusion,” Syverud said. He expects the results of Lynch’s review, which was launched due to concern regarding how DPS officers interact with students of color and protesters, to be published in February.

SU will continue to offer the Forever Orange Scholarship, which launched in the spring to provide recent graduates with a scholarship that covers 50% of graduate studies, Interim Provost John Liu said. The university made this decision because graduating students are still likely to face challenges with job placement amid the pandemic, Liu said.

The university’s search for senior vice president of enrollment and the student experience is still ongoing, Syverud said. SU hopes to appoint someone to permanently fill the position in the early spring, he said. SU’s search for a new provost is still in the early stages, he said.

Published on December 9, 2020 at 6:12 pm

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