COVID-19

August 14: Return to Campus

Aug. 14: Return to Campus

Dear Merrimack College Community,

I want to begin by saying we are excited to welcome our community back to campus this Fall. We have missed you all and Merrimack College has not been the same without its students, faculty and staff being on its campus. Students and faculty have begun to slowly return this week and I have been energized by their presence. I am humbled by each of our community member’s willingness to take on the important responsibility of keeping themselves and other community members safe to ensure each of us has a productive and successful semester.

The ongoing fight against COVID-19, the growing travel restrictions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and other matters have caused challenges as we made our plans to return as a residential campus this fall, but I remain fully confident in our abilities, our new procedures and our plans to ensure safety for our entire community. Despite the challenges we faced, and will continue to face, our community has come together to solve complex problems, to find new ways to live, learn and work, as well as to ensure we would find a way to come back together and enjoy each other’s company once again.

As we begin to welcome the majority of our students back to campus starting this weekend, I wanted to share with all of you the updated version of the Fall 2020 Return to Campus Handbook as well as a new video we have created that covers the important topics that students, faculty, staff and parents must familiarize themselves with to ensure a safe campus experience this Fall. Please read the handbook and watch the video so you know what to expect when you arrive on campus.

Fall 2020 Return to Campus Handbook

As I have said in my previous communications, we have a shared responsibility to work together at this challenging time. Living, working and learning together in a pandemic requires incredible diligence and patience as we navigate a new world that will present us with unique challenges.

I thank you to all of you for your sacrifices, patience and commitment to this great College, its students and to each other.

God bless each of you. Be safe and be well.

Best,

President Hopey

<section class="content-fluid-slider-container content-fluid dark section" style="background:url('/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21759_MC-logo-only.rev.1599138227.jpg'); background-size:cover;"><div class="container"><div class="row no-gutters"><div class="col-lg-9"><span class="label">Office of Communications and Marketing</span><a class="hover-yellow" href="https://www.merrimack.edu/about/offices_services/communications/notable-quotable/" title="See What Our Talented Faculty Have Been Up To" aria-label="See What Our Talented Faculty Have Been Up To"><h3>See What Our Talented Faculty Have Been Up To</h3></a> <p>Merrimack professors across all disciplines have been winning awards, publishing papers, participating in academic panels and workshops, and featured in the media. </p></div><div class="col-lg-3"><div class="d-table h-100 "><div class="d-table-cell align-middle"><img src="/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21759_MC-logo-only.rev.1599138227.jpg" alt="Merrimack College logo with shield"/></div></div></div></div></div></section>
<section class="content-fluid-slider-container content-fluid dark section" style="background:url('/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/ignore_cropper/1/21792_MC_CampusWide_2020_SM.rev.1600291298.jpg'); background-size:cover;"><div class="container"><div class="row no-gutters"><div class="col-lg-9"><span class="label">Office of Communications and Marketing</span><a class="hover-yellow" href="/live/news/4950-merrimack-college-named-again-to-us-news-world" title="Merrimack College Named Again to U.S. News & World Report’s Best College Rankings" aria-label="Merrimack College Named Again to U.S. News & World Report’s Best College Rankings"><h3>Merrimack College Named Again to U.S. News & World Report’s Best College Rankings</h3></a> <p>Merrimack College announced it has been named, for the third year in a row, a “<a href="https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/merrimack-college-2120/overall-rankings" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Top 50 Comprehensive College,” by U.S. News & World Report</a>, while remaining one of the top 10 “Most Innovative” schools. The College’s steady ascent in these rankings is a great external endorsement of its strategic vision. </p></div><div class="col-lg-3"><div class="d-table h-100 "><div class="d-table-cell align-middle"><img src="/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/ignore_cropper/1/21792_MC_CampusWide_2020_SM.rev.1600291298.jpg" alt="Merrimack maintains its steady ascent up the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings."/></div></div></div></div></div></section>
<section class="content-fluid-slider-container content-fluid dark section" style="background:url('/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2071/ignore_cropper/1/21746_DSC_6585.rev.1598540033.jpg'); background-size:cover;"><div class="container"><div class="row no-gutters"><div class="col-lg-9"><span class="label">Office of Communications and Marketing</span><a class="hover-yellow" href="/live/news/4948-merrimack-offers-new-global-pandemics-course-about" title="Merrimack Offers New Global Pandemics Course About COVID-19" aria-label="Merrimack Offers New Global Pandemics Course About COVID-19"><h3>Merrimack Offers New Global Pandemics Course About COVID-19</h3></a> <p>Merrimack’s new course Global Pandemics: Challenges and Opportunities in the Context of COVID-19 offers students the opportunity to examine COVID-19 through the lens of multiple fields of study and practice. </p></div><div class="col-lg-3"><div class="d-table h-100 "><div class="d-table-cell align-middle"><img src="/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2071/ignore_cropper/1/21746_DSC_6585.rev.1598540033.jpg" alt="Students in Global Pandemics: Challenges and Opportunities in the Context of COVID-19 will learn about the economics of pandemics, post-pandemic recoveries and more. "/></div></div></div></div></div></section>
<section class="content-fluid-slider-container content-fluid dark section" style="background:url('/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21767_F5_-_Dan_Curran_-_Twitter.rev.1599682621.png'); background-size:cover;"><div class="container"><div class="row no-gutters"><div class="col-lg-9"><span class="label">Office of Communications and Marketing</span><a class="hover-yellow" href="/live/news/4949-athletics-fast-five-with-head-football-coach-dan" title="Athletics Fast Five with Head Football Coach Dan Curran" aria-label="Athletics Fast Five with Head Football Coach Dan Curran"><h3>Athletics Fast Five with Head Football Coach Dan Curran</h3></a> <p>In this week’s edition of “Fast Five: Quick Q&As with Members of the Merrimack Community,” we talk to Head Football Coach, <a href="https://merrimackathletics.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/dan-curran/996" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dan Curran</a>. Curran, a former NFL player, shares his passion for the game of football, his affinity for coaching and the importance of developing quality student-athletes. </p></div><div class="col-lg-3"><div class="d-table h-100 "><div class="d-table-cell align-middle"><img src="/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21767_F5_-_Dan_Curran_-_Twitter.rev.1599682621.png" alt="Head Football Coach Dan Curran says he and his coaching staff instill the value of hard work, discipline, and sacrifice and develop their team members as people first and as student-athletes second."/></div></div></div></div></div></section>
<section class="content-fluid-slider-container content-fluid dark section" style="background:url('/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21758_rickey-caldwell.rev.1599077275.jpg'); background-size:cover;"><div class="container"><div class="row no-gutters"><div class="col-lg-9"><span class="label">Office of Communications and Marketing</span><a class="hover-yellow" href="/live/news/4947-merrimack-college-awarded-nsf-grant-for-machs" title="Merrimack College Awarded NSF Grant for MACHS Scholars Program" aria-label="Merrimack College Awarded NSF Grant for MACHS Scholars Program"><h3>Merrimack College Awarded NSF Grant for MACHS Scholars Program</h3></a> <p>Merrimack secures NSF grant for new STEM program to support high-achieving, low-income students. </p></div><div class="col-lg-3"><div class="d-table h-100 "><div class="d-table-cell align-middle"><img src="/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21758_rickey-caldwell.rev.1599077275.jpg" alt="Principal Investigator Dr. Rickey Caldwell, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering"/></div></div></div></div></div></section>
<section class="content-fluid-slider-container content-fluid dark section" style="background:url('/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21380_F5_Janet_Ierardi_Twitter.rev.1588791908.jpg'); background-size:cover;"><div class="container"><div class="row no-gutters"><div class="col-lg-9"><span class="label">Office of Communications and Marketing</span><a class="hover-yellow" href="/live/news/4921-faculty-fast-five-with-janet-ierardi" title="Faculty Fast Five with Janet Ierardi" aria-label="Faculty Fast Five with Janet Ierardi"><h3>Faculty Fast Five with Janet Ierardi</h3></a> <p>In this week’s edition of “Fast Five: Quick Q&As with Members of the Merrimack Community,” we talk to obstetrics nurse and associate clinical professor of nursing Janet Ierardi who teaches in the <a href="/nursing">nursing program at Merrimack</a>. </p></div><div class="col-lg-3"><div class="d-table h-100 "><div class="d-table-cell align-middle"><img src="/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21380_F5_Janet_Ierardi_Twitter.rev.1588791908.jpg" alt="The first in her family to attend college, Janet Ierardi has been teaching nursing for more than 15 years and tells her students to "squeeze every drop out of learning.""/></div></div></div></div></div></section>
<section class="content-fluid-slider-container content-fluid dark section" style="background:url('/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21675_LM-FF.rev.1594916487.jpg'); background-size:cover;"><div class="container"><div class="row no-gutters"><div class="col-lg-9"><span class="label">Office of Communications and Marketing</span><a class="hover-yellow" href="/live/news/4940-alumni-fast-five-with-nurse-lauren-maher-16" title="Alumni Fast Five with Nurse Lauren Maher ’16" aria-label="Alumni Fast Five with Nurse Lauren Maher ’16"><h3>Alumni Fast Five with Nurse Lauren Maher ’16</h3></a> <p>In this week’s edition of “Fast Five: Quick Q&As with Members of the Merrimack Community,” we talk to alumnus Lauren Maher ’16. Lauren shares her path to becoming a nurse, how Merrimack influenced her career choice and how she’d like to come back and share her knowledge with current nursing students. </p></div><div class="col-lg-3"><div class="d-table h-100 "><div class="d-table-cell align-middle"><img src="/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1200,670/ignore_cropper/1/21675_LM-FF.rev.1594916487.jpg" alt="Merrimack alumnus and nurse Lauren Maher '16 advises students to know they don't have to have it all figured out while they are in college."/></div></div></div></div></div></section>
<section class="content-fluid-slider-container content-fluid dark section" style="background:url('/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1920,1080/ignore_cropper/1/21260_MC_Church1.rev.1587317585.jpg'); background-size:cover;"><div class="container"><div class="row no-gutters"><div class="col-lg-9"><span class="label">Office of Communications and Marketing</span><a class="hover-yellow" href="https://www.merrimack.edu/covid-19/addressing-financial-hardships/index.php" title="Merrimack Establishes Student Emergency Fund" aria-label="Merrimack Establishes Student Emergency Fund"><h3>Merrimack Establishes Student Emergency Fund</h3></a> <p>As a testament to our Augustinian value of service to others and in the wake of this ongoing health crisis, Merrimack has established the Student Emergency Fund to assist those students who are facing additional financial hurdles due to COVID-19. </p></div><div class="col-lg-3"><div class="d-table h-100 "><div class="d-table-cell align-middle"><img src="/live/image/gid/67/width/1000/height/500/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1920,1080/ignore_cropper/1/21260_MC_Church1.rev.1587317585.jpg" alt="Merrimack church"/></div></div></div></div></div></section>

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