Friday Holiday Update
Posted December 18, 2020
December 18, 2020
Dear Campus Community,
Congratulations are in order for the entire SIUE community for successfully persevering through an historically challenging semester! We hope that you are able to safely enjoy the winter holiday break with your families and loved ones, and take the time to re-energize for 2021.
Today, we proudly celebrate commencement with more than 1,100 graduates, and their families and friends. You can view the virtual ceremonies at siue.edu/commencement/watch-the-ceremony. Thanks to the Alumni Association, congratulatory messages to the graduates can be posted and viewed at kudoboard.com. Our graduates’ resilience, perseverance and academic performance have been inspirational. We know that our faculty and staff are thrilled to celebrate these accomplishments, even in a virtual environment.
Below is information to keep you up-to-date on campus activities:
Remember, SIUE continues to be in Limited Campus Operations Mode in response to the implementation of Restore Illinois Tier 3 Mitigations for Region 4. SIUE campus operations will remain in Limited Mode through Wednesday, Dec. 23. More information can be found at siue.edu/about/announcements/coronavirus. Please check individual department websites for the most up-to-date information.
Current Testing and Dashboard
Health Service staff performed 186 screening tests and had a positivity rate of 1.46% for the week. This week’s confirmed positive cases for those self-reporting or those identified through SIUE testing were 6 for students and 6 for faculty/staff. The number of current 14-day new positive tests stands at 11 students and 8 faculty/staff. For a more in-depth look at SIUE’s COVID numbers, you may connect to the COVID Dashboard by visiting siue.edu/about/announcements/coronavirus/reporting.
Spring 2021 Testing
In the next few days, you will receive an email from Aura (info@auratracker.org). Aura is the software provider for Genetworx, our COVID testing provider. If the email does not show up in your inbox, please check your clutter or junk folders. Next week, there will also be registration information on the COVID testing website. Frequently Ask Questions section has been added to the COVID testing website.
All faculty, staff, and students (including those in University Housing), who engage in on-ground campus activity between Jan. 4 and 21 are required to complete a mandatory re-entry Covid-19 screening test.
On your testing day, you should refrain from eating, drinking, tooth brushing, mouth washing, gum chewing, and tobacco use for at least a half hour before submitting your saliva sample at the test location. Invalid results typically occur when non-optimal saliva samples are submitted.
Spring 2021 Return to SIUE Plan Now Available
Information about the Spring 2021 Return to SIUE Plan, academic instruction, campus events and operations and more atsiue.edu/about/announcements/coronavirus/university-plan-policy/index.shtml.
Dec. 15 COVID December Town Hall Recording Now Available
At siue.edu/about/announcements/coronavirus/university-plan-policy/index.shtml, you will find the Dec. 15 COVID Town Hall Recording along with the Return to SIUE Spring Plan and Spring 2021 FAQs.
Updated COVID-19 Website Set to Launch Dec. 23
Please be patient as we begin the conversion to the new website Dec. 22-23.
Finally, remember if you are feeling ill, don’t come to campus. If you are under quarantine or isolation, do not leave it early. SIUE still follows CDC guidelines that recommend 14 days of quarantine.
This is the final weekly update for the fall semester, and we will return on Friday, Jan. 8. It has been our pleasure to serve with you during this past semester, and we look forward to working together throughout 2021.
Best wishes for the holiday season and have a Happy New Year!
Randy Pembrook, Chancellor
Denise Cobb, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Rachel Stack, Vice Chancellor for Advancement
Morris Taylor, Vice Chancellor for Administration
Jeffrey Waple, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
