The following message was emailed to the campus community on April 17, 2020.
Dear Santa Clara University community,
As we continue to watch the news developments about the spread of COVID-19 around our country, we are grateful for our entire community doing their part, sheltering at home and helping “flatten the curve.” Here are the updates from this past week:
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases: Since our community members have now dispersed and are studying and working remotely, we continue to monitor confirmed cases and will share accordingly. This week, we were notified of two undergraduate students who were tested in late March and received news that they tested positive. One is still recovering and the other has fully recovered. In addition, a staff member has tested positive for COVID-19 on April 15 and was briefly on campus on Saturday, March 28. Although the staff member was on campus for approximately 30 minutes and no other employees were present in the building at the time, colleagues working remotely have been notified and the building has gone through deep disinfecting protocols. As the spread of the virus continues and as deemed appropriate, we will continue to engage in contact tracing, notification of appropriate parties as well as notifying our SCU community on all confirmed cases on our COVID-19 website.
County update and students planning to return: The statewide shelter-in-place order and the County Health Officer’s order remain in effect. Sheltering in place requires all residents to stay at home except to perform essential activities. We realize that many of our students are anxious about the uncertainty and about when they can return to campus and off-campus residences. Our students, particularly our graduating seniors, are rightfully grieving the loss of the spring quarter experience. However, the reality is that a return to campus and the adjacent neighborhoods is not advisable at this time, due to some stark and undeniable factors. For example, residents are not allowed to leave home to visit friends or family members in another household or living unit if there is no urgent need to do so. The County’s order also prohibits hosting or attending any gatherings, regardless of size.
Those students who are currently living far from campus and are thinking about returning to their off-campus or nearby campus housing should also understand that services and building access on Santa Clara’s campus are extremely limited. The University is operating to maximize virtual, not in-person, services and programming. Local businesses also are not operating as usual. Other restrictions will also apply and continue to be enforced by local authorities, such as face coverings, prohibitions on congregating in groups, and social distancing which protects not just individuals but our vulnerable neighbors as well. Let’s remember our civic duty to abide by the public health orders. The impact of each person’s choices will affect how quickly we collectively can overcome this pandemic.
Cowell Health Center Update: On April 9, 2020, the Cowell Center began operating under a temporary, hybrid model of care —a combination of both virtual (telehealth) and in-office psychological, psychiatric, and medical care. The Center has also returned to 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. operations.
Medical, counseling and psychiatry appointments are conducted via Zoom or over the phone. New patients can be seen for medical concerns, medical illnesses can be assessed, and prescriptions can be written via Zoom. New clients seeking mental health care will first be given a triage appointment via Zoom or over the phone.
All students will first engage in a telehealth appointment. If it is determined that a local (resident) student needs to meet with a provider via in-office medical or psychological care, the student will be referred to a local provider, urgent care or given an appointment time to come into the Cowell Center. The Case Manager, Outreach Coordinator, and Insurance Coordinator are available to work with all students, regardless of location.
Undergraduate Commencement Update: We have set up a working group of representatives from the graduating class, faculty, and staff to help us consider various options to recognize and celebrate the members of the class of 2020, which as you know has been delayed until an as-yet-undetermined later date. Traditionally, there have been a number of Commencement-related events: senior toast; Office of Multicultural Learning senior ceremonies; school award ceremonies; commencement liturgy; and of course the conferral of degrees, which traditionally has included the valedictory speech and conferral of honorary degrees. The working group will consider two key questions: “When should these ceremonies take place? and in what form?” As a part of the brainstorming process, working group members Sahil Sagar and Maddie Thompson will send a survey form out to the students in the class to determine their preferences. The group will then send recommendations to Fr. O’Brien and Provost Kloppenberg by May 15, who will make the final decision based on the best available public health information and the recommendations presented.
Stories of hope, leadership and more: As we mentioned last week, we will continue to share stories of our community so we can all stay connected. This week, senior Gavin Cosgrave’s opinion piece was published in the San Jose Mercury News, "A graduating senior sees the COVID-19 crisis in a new light.” In addition, last weekend, the San Francisco Chronicle featured a piece co-authored by Fr. O’Brien and Fr. Paul Fitzgerald, president of University of San Francisco, on “The Holy Days Challenge Us to Hope in the Face of Loss and Grieving from Coronavirus”.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Drive: This Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of Guadalupe Hall, Santa Clara University Trustee and Stanford University medical student Elizabeth Connelly ’15 has helped organize a PPE donation drive, to benefit Bay Area hospitals in need of equipment to fight COVID-19. Liz and her Stanford classmates have had great success getting local individuals and businesses to contribute extra supplies such as disinfecting wipes; masks (including hand-sewn masks); bleach; gloves; thermometers; face or eye shields; and more. More information about equipment that is needed can be found on the DonatePPE website.
We are extra proud that a group of Santa Clara University students from China, including first-year student Judith Li, will be donating 1,700 N95 masks that they arranged to be sent from China to help SCU and the Bay Area. This amazing group of 15 students already donated 2,000 procedural masks to Valley Medical Foundation and 1,000 procedural masks for use by Santa Clara University essential personnel.
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.
Please continue to stay resilient and strong in the face of this adversity. We have never been prouder to be part of our Bronco family.
Jeanne Rosenberger
Vice Provost for Student Life
John Ottoboni
Chief Operating Officer