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5/22: COVID-19 Update #19

The following message was emailed to the campus community on May 22, 2020.

Dear Santa Clara University Community, 

Quite a few updates in this weekly digest. Please read on for important information. 

Update on Fall 2020: As the Fall update email from President O’Brien and Provost Kloppenberg outlined earlier this week, extensive planning and preparations are underway for a ‘back-to-campus’ plan for the fall that will ensure the safety and well-being of our entire community. We want to reiterate that there have been no decisions made yet on how to reduce density on campus. As the work of the various COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery Working Group teams progress, we will be updating campus, including final decisions on fall 2020 by mid-summer.

‘Celebrating the Class of 2020’ Virtual Celebration: As announced earlier, a special online event ”Celebrating the Class of 2020,” will take place on June 13 at noon PDT to honor our undergraduates and confer their bachelor’s degrees. Please visit our commencement website to download the email invitation to send to friends and relatives, as well as access giphys, social media frames, yard signs and zoom backgrounds. We encourage families, faculty, and staff to post fun social media posts honoring our SCU Class of 2020 graduates using hashtags #SCU2020 and #SCUseniors. 

June 4 Honorary Degrees Event: As part of our usual Commencement ceremonies, we typically honor illustrious alumni with honorary degrees. This year is even more meaningful, with two highly accomplished alumnae, Risë Jones Pichon ’73, ’76 JD, retired Superior Court judge and Joanne Hayes-White ’86, first female San Francisco fire chief (retired), receiving honorary degrees. To celebrate them on June 4, which is also the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, we hope you can join us for this virtual event

Face-covering Requirements: Effective May 18, 2020, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, along with Bay Area health officials, require that residents cover their nose and mouth with a bandana or home-sewn fabric coverings. All  SCU employees are required to wear face coverings when they are on campus, even when no one else is present, to help prevent the spread of respiratory droplets. Face coverings should not be medical masks or other similar products, but can be made of any type of breathable material that will cover the nose and mouth (such as bandanas or home-sewn masks). Medical masks are in short supply and need to be reserved for health care personnel.  Wearing masks throughout your time on campus helps prevent community spread and protects other Broncos.

Pack-Up and Storage/Shipping Option: Santa Clara University has partnered with Bronco Student Services (a private, external company) to offer packing, storage, and shipping services to SCU students moving out of campus housing. The pack-up service will allow students to complete the move-out process without traveling to campus by having personal belongings packed up directly from student rooms. Items can then be stored safely until students return to campus, or students may choose to have items shipped home. For more information on this service visit: http://www.broncoss.com/pack-up 

Spring 2020 Move Out: Santa Clara University is now offering students who reside within 250 miles of SCU—as verified by the permanent address of record—the opportunity to retrieve their personal belongings from campus housing, either in person or by designating a local proxy (a friend or family member) to remove their belongings. Please review the Housing Office’s Spring 2020 Move-Out Information for details on how to sign up for a move-out time and properly move out of your residential space.  For those students who do not live within 250 miles of SCU and wish to come to campus to retrieve their personal belongings, please know a similar process will be available soon. We encourage students to continue to visit the Housing Office website for the most updated information. 

Off-Campus Student Information: Students who live in non-University off-campus housing are encouraged to work with their property managers and make arrangements for a safe move-out. 

CARES Act: A reminder that the University continues to distribute funds from the federal stimulus package, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Funding under the Act stipulates that at least 50% of the allocation be used to assist undergraduate and graduate students with unanticipated expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19. The application is available through eCampus and a dedicated CARES Act Relief Fund FAQ page has additional information. The FAQ has been updated with information for students who have applied already. 

A reminder to continue to consult our COVID-19 website and its regularly updated “frequently asked questions” section. You may also email questions to covid19@scu.edu.

Finally, we hope you have been following Fr. O’Brien’s Bridging the Distance video series which aims to help us stay connected to campus.  In yesterday’s episode, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Ahmed Amer discusses the May 28 School of Engineering Senior Design Conference which will be held virtually for the first time in the 50-year history of this event.  Stay safe and well.

Jeanne Rosenberger
Vice Provost for Student Life

John Ottoboni
Chief Operating Officer