02/08/2021
By Jacquie Moloney
While we still face difficulties and uncertainty, I am optimistic about our future, particularly as cases of COVID-19 decrease and vaccinations increase throughout our region.
Enrollment for spring is up compared to this time last year and we’ve increased our residential student population by 50 percent over fall numbers to 1,100 students. We have more than doubled the number of in-person or hybrid offerings this spring, enabling more of our faculty and students to connect through a more traditional classroom experience. As a result, we’ve ramped up our COVID-19 surveillance testing program to enable every student and employee working, learning or living on campus to get tested weekly.
This expansion of on-campus operations was made possible by the successes of last semester. While there were some setbacks along the way, the efforts of our entire campus community made fall 2020 as safe and productive as possible in the midst of this public health crisis.
In total, we ended up with a 0.47 percent positivity rate out of more than 19,000 tests from August through December — a fraction of Greater Lowell’s numbers. Through coordination from our Emergency Operations Center, each of you stepped up, wore masks, socially distanced and followed the other public health recommendations designed to keep each other safe. This semester’s surveillance testing numbers remain low and we are working with the unions to communicate the details we can when there are any positive cases on campus.
As the weather gets warmer, we hope to further increase campus activities — including spring and previously postponed fall sports — while adhering to state and federal public health guidelines. Our Student Affairs and University Events Division is planning ways for us to safely engage and gather in person in the coming weeks. We’re always looking for ways to implement as much pre-pandemic normalcy as possible, which we expect to return to with a full schedule of on-campus courses and student activities in the fall 2021 semester.
In the meantime, employees able to work remotely should plan to continue to do so for now. We’re working closely with Lowell General Hospital, the city of Lowell and the Lowell Board of Health and we are so grateful for the outstanding job these community partners are doing to fight this pandemic. LGH is leading vaccination coordination efforts in the Merrimack Valley and will be sharing more information about distribution in the weeks ahead. At this point, UMass Lowell does not expect to provide vaccines directly, but we will keep the campus informed should that change.
Many have asked about the status of the university’s budget and the impact of an expected $15.5 million in additional federal CARES Act funding. We are greatly relieved that these funds, as well as the fiscally prudent actions you all have taken, will enable us to address some of our remaining budget gap and bring back some of our employees who have been temporarily laid off. Nearly 60 percent of these colleagues have been recalled, participated in the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program or accepted other employment. We are continuing efforts to bring back others as quickly as we can.
While we’ve received other positive news with recommended level funding from the state and student enrollment figures, we continue to face significant budget challenges. Surveillance testing costs are increasing significantly as we grow our on-campus presence. And while we’re excited to welcome more students back to the residence halls, our current occupancy is at 25 percent of our pre-pandemic capacity. Higher costs due to expanded remote learning continue as well.
Steve O’Riordan, vice chancellor for finance and operations, and his team are working with me, Executive Cabinet members and the President’s Office to close our remaining budget gap this fiscal year and solidify our numbers as we plan for FY22 beginning in July. He will send a budget update to the campus when we have a clearer picture in the coming weeks.
We’re approaching the grim anniversary when many of us first started to realize the magnitude of the pandemic and the hardship and suffering it would create for so many.
Our difficult journey was made easier by the way River Hawk nation came together to face the impact of COVID-19 head on. And I believe that by next fall – and hopefully before – on-campus university operations and learning will have fully returned.
Thank you. I can’t say it enough. And I can’t wait for the day when we are all together again, in person, on campus.
Stay safe and stay well.