Please visit Ohio State's coronavirus website for more information about the COVID-19 outbreak and the university's response. General questions can be directed to coronavirus@osumc.edu.
The following message was sent to all Ohio State students, faculty and staff on Thursday, April 30, 2020.
Dear Buckeye Community:
As spring semester comes to a close, I want to thank you once again for your adaptability and collective efforts to continue to advance our academic mission. I hope you and your loved ones are well and staying safe during these challenging times. We continue to fight this pandemic united as Buckeyes.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced a phased plan to begin bringing Ohioans back to work and reopen businesses. As such, some of you may have questions about how this impacts Ohio State and what the university may be planning.
For now and until further notice, all university events are canceled through July 6, and all non-essential university employees are to continue teleworking and remain off campus, physical distancing and taking all other precautions to stay safe. We will continue to reevaluate and update our plans based on evolving conditions and keep you fully informed every step of the way.
As we shared previously, the university has launched a post-pandemic operations task force for a phased transition back to on-campus operations. The task force includes leaders from across the university and will involve the input and perspective of students, faculty and staff. A critical part of the task force’s work is to use a data-driven approach for recommending when it is safe to begin transitioning back onto our campuses.
While the information about the virus continues to evolve, and we will need to be flexible, our current tentative goal is to have an announcement of our plans for the fall semester by mid-June.
As task force planning progresses, we will share regular updates and decisions with the university community. Again, I am grateful for your patience and resilience as we move forward #TogetherAsBuckeyes.
Sincerely,
Michael V. Drake, MD