Re-opening SSW Building

TO: Faculty and staff in BUSSW (ssw-264)

FROM: Jorge Delva

Re: Re-opening of the SSW building

Good morning,

I write to update our community on our school’s plans should Governor Baker rescind the stay-at-home order following the May 18 deadline. I am in ongoing communication with the President and Provost offices along with deans across campus on this matter and plan to keep you informed of any development.  You may already know that BU is partnering with other universities in Boston to work closely with the Governor’s Office in thinking about the strategy that all universities may follow when the time comes to re-open campuses across the state.

Within our school, various committees have begun thinking about the fall and I have started the conversations with various committees and Associate and Assistant Deans, Directors and Managers about beginning the initial stages of planning for re-opening our school and starting to return to our offices, steps that may begin towards the end of May or early June. Rest assured that any re-opening will follow health and safety guidelines put forth by the city and state governments as well as by BU’s Medical Advisory Group and BU leadership. Furthermore, any re-opening at our school will be done in a systematic, deliberate, and incrementally slow manner ensuring those guidelines are followed.  We will not rush back!  In the next couple of weeks I will be sending more information as we continue to get pertinent health information and guidance from the city and state.

In closing, as we envision how to manage the new stage in this crisis (re-entering and at some point post-Covid recovery), I want to reiterate how thankful I am for the tremendous creative and problem-solving energy continuously demonstrated by each one of you as well as our Associate and Assistant Deans, Directors, Managers, and members of the various committees that make our school so strong and successful in our collective response to the challenges we face.

Wising you much health and safety.

Jorge