From the President
Return-to-Campus Planning
March 15, 2021
Dear Colleagues,
As more Californians receive vaccinations, and in view of President Biden's recent announcement about planned vaccine availability, safely returning to campus appears to be increasingly within reach – over time, and with careful planning. Last week, college senior staff met with your union and senate leadership, as well as other involved college and district staff, to review and discuss the first draft of the Welcome Back to Campus Plan. Clearly, it was vital for us to consult with these leaders early in the development of the plan, and we will continue to do so as planning evolves.
The first draft of the plan is based on the phased return of Instructional programs, with Student Services and Administrative Services in support. As many of you know, college senior staff have been planning preliminarily, working with those programs most interested in returning as soon as possible, and obtaining their specific plans and requests.
I want to note, with great appreciation, that our colleagues in several areas have remained on campus during the entire year of the pandemic: those in Custodial, Grounds and the Bookstore. I know you join me in thanking every one of them.
Let me emphasize what I have said before: Our guiding principle for returning to campus is maintaining – to the fullest extent possible – the health and safety of De Anza College students, faculty members, classified professionals and administrators. At every step, equity must be a crucial consideration.
The De Anza College Welcome Back to Campus Plan is interconnected – and will evolve – with the central health, safety, facilities and regulatory elements to be included in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District reopening plan, such as
- Adherence to all current county and state requirements and guidelines
- Meeting of all health monitoring, check-in and tracking requirements
- Installation and provision of necessary protective equipment (for example, plexiglass and PPE)
The De Anza College plan is subject to change based on conditions including official guidelines, infection and vaccine rates, and available facilities capacity. Updates will be posted on the website at deanza.edu/return-to-campus.
Return-to-campus planning will be a central point of discussion at today's Senior Staff Conversation and Q&A, so please join us at 1 p.m. if you are able. I look forward to seeing you there, where we also plan to talk about the value of our classified professionals to our students and the college, including in shared governance work.
With appreciation,
Lloyd