University Announces Reopening Master Plan

President Ken Gormley announced last week that the University’s Board of Directors approved the Master Plan for re-opening campus for the fall 2020 semester.

The plan, Reopening Duquesne University for the 2020-2021 Academic Year, features two comprehensive sections. The first, People, describes health and safety measures and policies. It also includes academic instruction and student success, campus activities, and plans for wellbeing, a section distinct to Duquesne not seen in many other university plans.

The second section, Places, outlines how the University will manage its facilities and includes facts about cleaning practices, access to buildings and campus, classroom and residence hall configurations, dining, parking and related details.

“As we all have seen, the pandemic conditions have been quite variable. Guidance from government and health officials can change rapidly,” Gormley wrote in an email to the campus community. “Therefore, our plan is flexible, designed to allow us to move quickly and seamlessly into different modes of educational delivery if circumstances change. This plan will exist primarily as an electronic document on the University’s COVID-19 Planning and Information page (https://covid19.duq.edu) and, as updates or changes are made, the plan will reflect them.”

Some highlights from the plan include:

• The University will operate with a hybrid/blended model of in-person and remote instruction.
• It will be mandatory and a matter of policy for anyone on campus to wear masks in all public spaces. Self-screening also will be required practice.
• Employees will have access to initial supplies of PPE and training materials regarding social distancing and safety practices.
• Classes will start on Monday, August 24. Students who wish to take courses remotely for any reason will be able to do so. Students who wish to take face-to-face courses in a hybrid fashion, on campus, will be able to do so.
• The University continues to encourage remote work to the extent possible in order to de-densify the campus. Department heads, directors, and other supervisors are planning within units for how best to balance work and any necessary campus presence.
• Living Learning Centers—the residence halls on campus—will be open, de-densified, and operating with new safety protocols.
• Coursework will conclude prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.
• The University will hold classes on Labor Day as well as Monday, November 23, and Tuesday, November 24, prior to Thanksgiving break. The Staff Advisory Council is working with the administration to identify another vacation day to accommodate the change to Labor Day.
• Wellbeing resources will be available for faculty and staff as well as to students.

Provost Dr. David Dausey, an epidemiologist by training, chaired the Master Planning team, and Madelyn Reilly, vice president and general counsel, served as vice chair. Members from seven specific Task Forces contributed to the finished plan.