Celebrate and Persevere
Posted May 6, 2022
April 6, 2022
Students,
This weekend we will celebrate our spring 2022 graduates during seven commencement ceremonies. It is my absolute favorite time of year! I want to offer special congratulations to the graduates who have endured the race. I know it has not always been easy, but you did it!
With frustration and great disappointment, I am sorry to say that I will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person. I tested positive for COVID. With the health and safety of this community in mind, I am following isolation requirements as a fully vaccinated individual. I will be tuning in to watch the livestream of each ceremony on siue.edu/tv and wish all of our graduates the very best!
COVID continues to present challenging and unfortunate circumstances, but we will persevere. Allow me to share a few other related updates for all students:
- Gov. Pritzker recently extended the executive order requiring all higher education students and personnel to participate in weekly testing if they are not vaccinated. You can schedule an appointment by clicking here.
- To ensure compliance, new students who are fully vaccinated should submit their COVID vaccination information via this form. Upon approval, these individuals will not be required to participate in weekly testing, though our services remain available for any student, regardless of vaccination status.
- If you will be on campus this summer, please review our Face Mask Guidelines as posted on siue.edu/coronavirus. Face masks are optional in most places. Our faculty maydetermine mask wearing requirements in their instructional space. Please always keep a mask available for use.
Our COVID website, siue.edu/coronavirus, is a great resource for anyone with questions related to processes, requirements or other updates.
As always, I thank you for your patience and cooperation as we go forward.
Best,
James T. Minor, PhD
Chancellor
