Logan Ramsey
News Editor
After more than a year of campus operating at limited capacity, Idaho State University plans to be fully open with in-person instruction and on-campus activities for the Fall 2021 semester. The COVID-19 Health Committee continues to meet regularly and monitor the pandemic, and while they’re confident students will be able to return to campus, they also commit to being flexible and vigilant.
ISU leadership is excited to welcome students back to campus and they hope that the first day of school will feel like the normal start of a semester.
“Event planning is already underway to make sure the campus is vibrant and engaging. After a year apart for many students, faculty, and staff, this fall will feel like a reunion,” said ISU President Kevin Satterlee.
The main metrics the committee and ISU leadership looked at when deciding to return to on-campus instruction was the effectiveness of the vaccine and the availability to students. Satterlee has received his vaccine and he encourages others to do the same.
“… getting our vaccines is how we will put the pandemic behind us and safely return to in-person instruction and the on-campus activities that we all value so much. There is a lot of hope and excitement about our future here at Idaho State University. And every Bengal getting their shot is how we get there,” Satterlee said.
While Satterlee said that the health and safety of students is always the top priority, they also know that students want a complete campus experience.
“We all value our traditions and events as part of our Bengal culture, we all enjoy seeing each other in person, and we look forward to safely resuming activities this fall,” Satterlee said.
While this year has been trying, Satterlee said that it has left him with, “great gratitude and hope.” The greatest challenge the university faced was finding a way to adapt operations to respond to the pandemic.
“It required us to think differently, but it also provided opportunities for collaboration and creative problem solving. Being able to quickly pivot ensured that we were able to continue reaching our students and supporting their education,” Satterlee said.
Satterlee has been “continuously impressed” by the ability of the university to adapt to difficult circumstances.
“I am proud of our community for continuing to provide a quality education under less than ideal circumstances, and I am incredibly proud of the resilience of our students,” Satterlee said.
Satterlee acknowledges that whenever a community tackles something difficult, it leaves a lasting impact.
“We had to learn as we went, but we were able to quickly learn some valuable lessons about how to be flexible and adaptable. We learned how to operate remotely, and how to make sure our students’ needs were being met during difficult times,” Satterlee said.
Over the course of the coming months, ISU leadership will discuss what they think worked well and what didn’t, and then improve campus operations in the present.
