The following message was emailed to the campus community on April 3, 2020.
Dear Santa Clara University community,
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a way to ground our important shared work, Fr. O’Brien asked his cabinet to reflect on this question,“What is being revealed this week that helps us see who Santa Clara is becoming?” It is hard to imagine a community becoming more caring, more generous or more committed to our students. Yet, with each passing day, we witness the generosity of the Santa Clara community in abundance.
As Father O'Brien said in his video message sent this morning, “We might be sheltering in place but we are not standing still.” For example, students are reaching out to combat social isolation and to assist one another during the full transition to virtual learning. Faculty members are exhibiting abundant creativity in order to impart knowledge in new ways. Staff members have pitched in to provide consistent, thoughtful and selfless care for each member of our Bronco community.
As we settle into new routines, we use this opportunity to provide a number of important updates since last week.
The expanded County Shelter-in-Place Order took effect March 31. The overarching goals of the more restrictive order are twofold: “To lower the number of people who become ill and to save lives by slowing the spread of the virus to ensure we have enough room in our hospitals for people who develop severe illness.” The measure requires us to stay at home as much as possible.
As a result of the Order, the previously announced dates of May 1–8 for students to return to campus to retrieve belongings has been canceled. New dates will be announced pending guidance from Santa Clara County and the State of California.
Many University resources have shifted online. Last week, we shared a digest of campus resources to help students maintain connections during remote learning.
Pass/No Pass Grading Option: To support our students’ success during this period of disruption, the provost announced that the University is implementing a temporary change to the undergraduate pass/no pass grading policy during the spring 2020 quarter including a new drop deadline.
Confirmed Case #2: After sending our update last Thursday, the University learned of a second SCU student who tested positive for COVID-19. This confirmed case #2 is an undergraduate student who lives off campus. The student was last on campus March 13, 2020. On March 16, the student reported to the University that the student was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. The student was tested for the virus on March 17, 2020, with results coming back positive 10 days later. Shortly after being tested, the student reported feeling better and no longer having any COVID-19 symptoms. This student began a period of self-isolation on March 16 and remained in self-isolation through the requisite time period ending March 31, 2020.
The SCU student who first tested positive for COVID-19 on March 19 continues to recover at home off campus.
Commencement Decision: Given the ongoing health crisis in our area, and the likelihood that large gatherings will continue to be prohibited in the near future, last week, Fr. O’Brien and Provost Kloppenberg announced the decision to postpone the Commencement exercises across our schools.
Please consult our COVID-19 website and its regularly updated “frequently asked questions” section. You may also email questions to covid19@scu.edu.
Thank you as always for your generosity, patience and grace as we navigate this evolving situation together. We continue to hold our Bronco community in our thoughts and prayers.
Jeanne Rosenberger
Vice Provost for Student Life
John Ottoboni
Chief Operating Officer