U. of Kentucky Plans to Reopen for Fall Semester

The University of Kentucky announced on Friday that it plans to reopen the campus for the upcoming fall semester. University President Eli Capilouto said that he and his staff are working to “reinvent” a new “normal” that allows students to safely return to campus in the fall.

According to a local news report, the University of Kentucky is planning to reopen its campus for the fall semester. However, university officials claim that a variety of precautions will be taken to mitigate the spread of the Chinese virus.

“In an uncertain world, we must think about new challenges that we’ve never before confronted,” UK President Eli Capilouto wrote in an email to the university community on Friday. “And, we do so as the world seems to shift daily under our feet. You’ve handled every stress and strain with the grace and grit that defines this place.”

According to the email, the University of Kentucky will deploy various precautionary measures to prevent the virus from spreading on campus. For example, some courses may continue to be taught online. Other courses, particularly those that benefit from in-person instruction, will resume on campus.

Capilouto said that his campus reopening plan is structured around three questions. Each question addresses various roadblocks to a successful reopening in the fall.

“What if we have to delay the start of the semester? What does that look like, and how do we shift those dates?”
“What would a hybrid approach look like, in which we are online for part of the semester and in class for another part, if there is a re-emergence of the virus?”
“What if events make a fully online approach to instruction necessary again? How would that transition take place, and what do we do with a campus that is about to begin operations or is already open?”

Brown University President Christina Paxson laid out her proposal to reopen campuses in a New York Times column that was published last week. “Our students will have to understand that until a vaccine is developed, campus life will be different,” Paxson wrote. Paxson suggested that Brown will invite students to return to campus for the fall semester.