Stephen F. Austin State University

Dear Faculty and Staff:

Happy New Year! I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday break!

As we prepare for the spring semester, I want to assure you that our leadership team will continue to monitor COVID-19 cases (on campus, locally, statewide, etc.). Beginning next week, we will be updating our COVID-19 information and reporting page regularly (http://www.sfasu.edu/spring2021) and will continue to take all the necessary precautions we did during the fall semester. At this time, we have no plans to change our pathway or to move instruction all online.

As we continue with this challenging academic year, I thank you for the incredible dedication and commitment you have extended to our students and campus community. Through your great efforts, we pushed ourselves beyond our preconceived limits, developed new and creative approaches to teaching and learning, and demonstrated what it means to be a Lumberjack.

In spite of the continued challenges presented by COVID-19, I am looking forward to the spring semester, and I hope you are, too. I know each of you is doing everything possible to provide our students with the highest quality education and working to help ensure, in any way possible, the health and safety of our campus community and your friends and families at home.

As a part of this effort, I ask for your help. I believe that by working together with Lumberjack pride, we can be as successful this spring as we were last fall. SFA was a model for success this past fall, and you played a significant role in that success. Here are a few steps we can take to help protect our entire academic community and to help us once again model the Lumberjack spirit to our state and nation.

• Face coverings – Face coverings are required for everyone on campus, and this policy will continue until otherwise communicated. If you have questions, please review our face-covering requirements policy and FAQs. If you need additional information, please contact Health Services at 936.468.4008 or healthservices@sfasu.edu. If you have any questions, or believe you may be experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please visit our site for COVID-19 Guidance (http://www.sfasu.edu/covid19).

• Physical distancing – We will continue physical distancing on campus, including our classrooms, office spaces and other academic areas.

• Testing – If you have symptoms, or if you have been around people who have tested positive for COVID-19, please get tested. Starting January 6th, Curative Labs will have a kiosk located in the circle drive near the Pearman Alumni Center and the Pattillo Student Center. They will offer free testing to employees and students from 8 to 5, Monday through Friday. Walk-ins are welcome, or make an appointment here.

• Contact tracing – To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we created an SFA Contact Tracing Team, which includes case investigators and contact tracers operating with direction from leading epidemiologists. If you are contacted by a team member, we ask that you please respond fully and accurately, quickly returning any message left for you. This will help us safeguard the entire university community.

We appreciate your modeling of our core values of respect, caring, responsibility, unity and integrity for our students as we do our best to safeguard the health of others, both on and off campus. We will continue to recommend practices based on recommendations and the very best information from leading health experts to promote the health of our community.

While COVID-19 has presented us all with many challenges, I have been inspired by the extraordinary resolve and resilience of our faculty and staff. I hope you stay safe and healthy, and that this semester is both successful and fulfilling for our entire university community.

Sincerely,

Scott Gordon
President