Bryan College and COVID-19

Rudd during the Fall

Students, Staff, and Faculty,

I trust that this summer has been a time of refreshment, family, and fun. It was also a time of much work here on campus and in your own community for many of us. I believe we have all enjoyed some limited sense of a ‘return to normalcy.’ As we progressed through the summer I anticipated that the fall return of students and classes would be more ‘normal.’ The new Delta variant has challenged this in some ways and I want to address those with you in this brief note.

First, the safety of our entire campus community is always first and foremost on my mind as we make decisions related to COVID and any responses that may be necessary. With such a diverse community on Bryan Hill, it makes decisions on COVID health policy difficult. We must all work towards service to one another as our chief objective.

Second, there has been much discussion about vaccines. Bryan College will not require vaccines for any employee or student. It is a personal choice and each individual should balance their own concerns and situation as they determine the best course of action. For example, Susi and I, because we are around so many different people and travel quite extensively, decided to get the vaccine when it was offered here on campus. That was our personal decision and one we entered into only after discussion and evaluation of the vaccine. Those who wish to get a vaccine can do so when it will be made available to the campus community on August 26. You will receive more information on this in the coming days.

Finally, a word about masks here at Bryan College. As the summer progressed into August, the Delta variant of COVID has rapidly spread. The responses at Colleges and Universities have been quite varied. In our return to campus for this fall, we had anticipated that there would be no mask requirement. That decision will largely remain in place with one exception. To best serve our faculty we will require that students wear a mask in classrooms unless they are directed otherwise by the faculty member. Our goal in this is to protect our faculty members who may be most at risk for the variant. We continue to monitor this requirement and will provide updates to students and faculty as they are necessary. There may be some of the campus community who chose to wear a mask at all times. We support your personal decision.

I eagerly look forward to the start of classes and the return of our students! While we all continue to navigate through this pandemic I am thankful to be on a campus where service to God and one another is a primary goal. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask them. You may direct them to COVIDQuestions@bryan.edu.

Douglas F. Mann, Ph.D. ‘92

President | Bryan College

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