BRUNSWICK, Maine — Bowdoin College is planning to welcome all students back to campus this fall, college President Clayton Rose said in a letter to the Bowdoin community on Thursday.
For the spring semester, all seniors, juniors, sophomores, international students, and first-year students unable to learn remotely were brought back to campus. All other first-year students remained remote.
Classes were still offered primarily online for the spring semester. But for the fall semester, Rose said Bowdoin expects that “nearly all classes will be taught in person," with exceptions made for faculty who may still be at risk for COVID-19.
Rose said they will still have to wait and evaluate the circumstances to decide if the campus will reopen to the public for various campus events and sporting events.
Rose continued to say that even when all students and faculty have been vaccinated, which Rose said is their goal, public health protocols will have to remain in place on campus.
“While we expect to relax our distancing and room capacity restrictions, we may still see some version of surveillance testing and the use of face coverings in certain situations,” Rose said. “We’ll follow what the science and our public health experts recommend.”
“These are our plans, and we are doing everything we can to make them a reality when we reconvene in the fall. In addition to welcoming all of our students back to campus and having in-person classes, events, meals, athletic competitions, and all the rest, we will also continue—in person—the work begun this year on diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice. This is critical work and an ongoing part of our mission at the College,” Rose wrote.
Rose said he is confident they can safely hold a commencement ceremony in-person on May 29. They are working on a virtual option for those who don’t feel comfortable attending in-person.
