Chatham University President David Finegold shared that students will hopefully be able to return to in-person classes next fall, according to an email sent April 2 to the Chatham community. 

Chatham has pursued a full-to-partial virtual class delivery system ever since the COVID-19 pandemic halted full in-person instruction last March. 

“I am pleased to announce it is our plan to return to an in-person, academic and residential campus experience this fall. We are anticipating an experience that will include on-campus classes, events, athletics and increased capacity in our residence halls,” Finegold said in the email. This announcement was repeated on Chatham’s official instagram later that day. 

 

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Another key factor of being able to return to in-person classes and events is the amount of students, faculty and staff who get vaccinated. In the email, some dates were shared of when faculty and students would be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 

University employees (including student employees) are eligible on April 5 and all other students and members of the Chatham community on April 19. A full breakdown of Pennsylvania’s vaccine rollout and eligibility can be found on the state’s website.

The email also stated that some of the changes and enhancements of safety Chatham made due to COVID-19 would stay in place next semester. It is unclear what changes and enhancements will stay at this point. 

Students can look forward to being able to return to a more normal and socially vibrant fall semester at Chatham. More updates about the Fall 2021 semester will be given over the following months via email as people maintain safety guidelines.

This story will be updated as more information comes available about what is going to happen with the Chatham community next fall. In regards to sports and athletes, there will also be updates from the Communiqué on the fall sports season.