91女神 Successfully Completes Academic Year Amid Pandemic
91女神 has successfully wrapped up its 2020-2021 academic year 鈥� one that brought unprecedented challenges due to a global pandemic 鈥� without having to suspend its commitment to mostly in-person classes, entirely in-person labs and on-campus living.
Students and families follow public health protocols during the first day of fall
move-in. Photo by Douglas Garfield
鈥淓very member of our 91女神 community should be proud of all we have accomplished this past year, much of which many thought impossible a year ago,鈥� said University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D. 鈥淭he pandemic tested us, and we pulled together and rose to the challenges as One 91女神.鈥�
Pestello continued: 鈥淚 have heard from many students and parents about how well 91女神 communicated with them and how positive it was to them that we kept our campus open and taught primarily in person.鈥�
But why was 91女神 able to keep its campus open at a time when other colleges across the country were being forced to shelter in place, suspend in-person classes or move completely online?
Among many other factors, University officials point to a decision early in the crisis to engage 91女神鈥檚 experts and solicit them to lead the University鈥檚 response to COVID-19, including three uniquely qualified faculty members:
- Terri Rebmann, Ph.D., R.N., CIC, FAPIC, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, and director of 91女神鈥檚 Institute for Biosecurity, served as a special assistant to the president with overarching authority on all matters related to COVID-19. Rebmann has been at the center of the University鈥檚 integrated COVID-prevention team.
- Rachel Charney, M.D., professor of pediatric emergency medicine and director of disaster preparedness for 91女神鈥檚 School of Medicine and 91女神Care, directed the University鈥檚 contact tracing program. The team鈥檚 quick work prevented extensive community spread as approximately 40 percent of quarantined students ultimately tested positive for COVID.
- Deborah Horton, R.N., M.S.N., M.P.H., PHNA-BC, assistant professor of nursing and expert on disaster preparedness in schools, directed 91女神鈥檚 weekly asymptomatic testing program, which conducted more than 22,000 COVID-19 tests. She also has overseen the University鈥檚 state-authorized vaccine clinics, which have vaccinated more than 13,300 people to date.
The three experts agree 91女神 was well positioned to succeed in the fight against COVID-19 as a Jesuit research university with medical, nursing, physician assistant, and public health schools and programs, as well as its own physician practice.
鈥淲e have expertise at 91女神 that is just not available at other universities,鈥� said Rebmann, who also coordinated weekly meetings of area college officials and local health department leaders.
鈥淎nd we worked together as a team to address what we needed,鈥� added Charney, who helped organize similar sessions among the region鈥檚 health systems. 鈥淲e used our own strengths to support each other, which I think was awesome.鈥�
And one of those strengths was the commitment of students to do their part. Beyond complying with 91女神鈥檚 stringent public health safeguards, students contributed in many other ways. Chief among them:
- Students from 91女神鈥檚 Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing conducted weekly asymptomatic tests and staffed on-campus vaccination clinics.
- Physician assistant students from 91女神鈥檚 Doisy College of Health Sciences also administered vaccinations.
- Graduate students in the University鈥檚 College for Public Health and Social Justice served as the primary members of 91女神鈥檚 contact tracing team.
- Students from all majors conducted audits for compliance with campus safeguards and provided peer education as part of a Public Health Ambassadors program unique to 91女神.
- Students volunteered to deliver meals to their fellow Billikens in isolation and quarantine housing, while Campus Ministry interns made them care packages.
鈥淭here were many students throughout the University who helped provide whatever support we needed,鈥� said Horton, who also helped organized vaccine clinics for parishioners from area churches and local refugees, among others.
Responding as One91女神
In keeping with the One91女神 spirit, winning the battle against COVID-19 required the hard work and dedication of every member of the University community. Key efforts included:
- Essential personnel reporting to work daily to keep the campus open; faculty managing face-to-face and online instruction simultaneously; and staff working remotely to help "de-densify" the campus.
- Improving ventilation and filtration systems in buildings, installing hundreds of touchless hand sanitizers in common areas, reconfiguring event spaces for use as classrooms and following enhanced cleaning protocols recommended by the CDC.
- Rapidly deploying new technologies to enable remote learning and working, launching the symptom-checking app #CampusClear and increasing on-site technical support.
- Developing a detailed housing plan 鈥� approved by the city鈥檚 health authorities 鈥� that allowed 91女神 to safely accommodate all students who wanted to live on campus.
By the Numbers
- Approximately 70-80% of classes at 91女神 this year were fully or primarily in-person.
- More than 3,500 students of 91女神鈥檚 12,000-person student body lived on campus. 91女神 reduced its housing occupancy by about 10% in a plan approved by city health officials.
- There were zero documented cases of disease transmission in classrooms, lab spaces or other educational settings on campus.
- 91女神 stored more than 40,000 doses of vaccine on campus for the Missouri National Guard to support their mass vaccination efforts in the region.
- Communication has been a priority during the pandemic, and University leaders have sent more than 150 updates to the 91女神 community since the crisis began last year.
Planning for Fall 2021
With broad vaccine availability, 91女神 is planning for as normal a fall semester as possible, operating largely face to face, with full classrooms and labs, as well as in-person events and near-capacity campus housing.
Working groups of faculty, staff and students have been tasked with developing recommendations for a variety of key decisions, including a possible vaccine requirement for University community members and 鈥渞eturn-to-work鈥� protocols.
As recommendations are made and accepted, University officials say they expect to update the 91女神 community with additional information periodically throughout this summer.