Adams State University
Letter from President Cheryl D. Lovell

One of the things we have learned during this unprecedented time is that you cannot keep a Grizzly down.

Perseverance, resiliency and grit are hallmarks of how we see ourselves as Adams State Grizzlies. Over these past five months, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have demonstrated just how determined we Grizzlies are as we continue with our teaching, with our studies, and as we persist in our educational mission on behalf of the thousands of undergraduate and graduate students who rely on Adams State for their academic advancement.

We welcomed back our students, staff and faculty for the start of fall semester classes on August 24. Because you are our friends, supporters, alumni and closest neighbors, we wanted to reach out with a few additional details to help you better understand our plans for a safe return to Adams State and to Alamosa and the greater San Luis Valley.

The health and safety of our community is our number-one priority. We established a Safe-to-Return Task Force and at every turn consulted with Alamosa County Public Health Department in developing our plans to bring students, staff and faculty back to campus and to the community safely.

At the center of our plan are these requirements and protocols:

  • Masks or face coverings are required at all times on campus. And we have the same expectation for any of our visitors, whether they are attending an event on campus or simply taking a stroll through campus. We expect our students, staff, faculty and community to follow this guideline without question. The only time you would not see individuals wearing masks on campus would be, well, when you do not see them at all because they are in the privacy of their rooms or offices. Otherwise expect to see the Grizzlies in masks everywhere we go and everything we do. Our faculty will teach with face shields on in the classroom.
  • Safe physical distancing. Our classrooms are set up to accommodate six feet apart desk-to-desk, student-to-student. Our cafeteria, where students will be able to sit and eat or grab a meal and go, will meet social distancing standards. Same with our outdoor spaces. If we have students gathering for an activity on one of the campus’ fabulous green spaces, they will be practicing social distancing.
  • Thorough cleaning and sanitizing. After each class, after every event, our staff will disinfect.
  • We have identified areas for quarantining if necessary. If a student needs to be isolated because they exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, we will immediately take that step and then work with Alamosa County public health to contact individuals who may have been in close proximity to that person. Students, staff and faculty will have their temperatures taken daily in various locations across campus. They know that if they feel sick, they are not to come to campus.

Indeed, the campus will look a bit different as we all contend with COVID-19. We also shortened the time students will be on campus this semester, completing in-person courses on November 24, just ahead of Thanksgiving. We will then deliver all final exams for the semester remotely, via our Blackboard learning platform. We think the shortened semester, while still containing the same number of instructional hours that students would get in a regular semester, will help us complete our studies safely.

The decision to resume face-to-face courses was made in consultation with our students, who overwhelmingly expressed a desire to be in the classroom learning from our faculty versus consuming course material through our remote Blackboard online system. The small learning environment where students receive the attention they deserve and need from our faculty and staff is what Adams State is known for and what separates us from the larger universities.

Rest assured, we have discussed and thought through the many what-if scenarios, including what to do in the event of an outbreak and an order from the state and county public health to utilize remote learning access and to close down the campus.

In that event we will simply do what we did last March when we shifted to remote Blackboard learning at the start of the pandemic and during our spring semester. Adams State is capable of running all of its classes remotely through its Blackboard online platform and will shift to that environment once again if the situation calls for it.

On behalf of the Adams State Executive Management Team and the entire campus, thank you for your support and all that you do to make Adams State successful.

Sincerely,
President Cheryl D. Lovell