Mar 17: Weekly Update from President Nowaczyk

Mar 17, 2021 2:35 PM

Good afternoon,

A few reminders this week:

Staycation

Hope you are enjoying the break from classes today. Many activities are planned — today and for the rest of the week, including fireworks on Friday night. Be safe and enjoy. Check out the schedule at this link.  

Vaccinations

As I first noted Friday afternoon, the Allegany County Health Department has started offering vaccination appointment signups for FSU employees, including student employees, based on priorities determined from a vaccination interest survey last month. Information has been sent out — including an email to employees earlier today from COVIDtesting@frostburg — for appointments tomorrow and next Friday. We will continue to provide updates as we get information.  

There is still no indication of if we will receive doses of the vaccine to distribute here on campus or when the state’s vaccination phase will move beyond 1C. Meanwhile, if you can qualify for a vaccine opportunity elsewhere, please take it. Allegany County residents can fill out the interest form at this link, and Garrett residents can look for appointments or use the interest form at this link. Other information is available at the state health department website.

Also, this week we started including reported vaccinations on campus on our COVID Dashboard page. These are self-reported numbers. If you have received a COVID-19 vaccine, please upload that information to the FSU Check-in portal(look for “My Vaccines” in the menu at the top right). These numbers will serve as another indicator we will monitor as we evaluate the ongoing status of the campus during the pandemic.  

If you are interested, Congressman David Trone is hosting a live conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor, on Monday, March 22, at 3 p.m. Learn more and RSVP here.

Virtual Commencement Survey

There will be no large commencement ceremony in May due to COVID restrictions. If you are scheduled to graduate, you should have received a survey this week to help us decide on exactly what the celebration will look like. Please respond by Thursday. And remember, once we are fully able to have indoor crowds at capacity and health and safety guidance allows it, we will invite all our graduates back to campus for formal, in-person indoor ceremonies.

Vigilance

Even as our positivity rate remains low and vaccines are available here in Western Maryland, I encourage everyone to remain vigilant. COVID is still very contagious, especially with new variants being reported across the country, and the majority of our campus community is still waiting for the vaccine. Outbreaks at other locations should act as a warning to us. Don’t let the virus disrupt your semester.  

  • If you are on campus, test twice a week, every week. (More info at this link.) 
  • Wear your mask and wear it property.  
  • Wash or sanitize your hands frequently.  
  • Avoid parties, crowds and any unmasked gatherings with people outside your household.
  • Monitor your symptoms and use the Check-in Portal daily.

Stay safe and be well,
Ronald Nowaczyk, PhD