Update From Dean Lively
Dear Students,
As I went out for my morning masked and socially distanced walk around Occom pond, I couldn't help but notice that some of the leaves are beginning to change. There are always a few early signs of fall, but I must admit that I was surprised. That, the increasingly cool mornings, and the fog that now rests heavily on the pond's usually clear surface are all reminders of how quickly the last days of summer in Northern New Hampshire are slipping away.
I know we covered a lot of ground on Friday, and there's a lot coming later this week. Therefore, I'm going to keep this brief.
To everyone who has already signed and submitted your Community Expectations Agreement, thank you for getting it done! For those of you who haven't yet signed - no matter what your D-plan or on- or off-campus plans may be, please remember that you have a week to complete this task - the deadline is midnight eastern time next Monday, August 24th. Everyone must complete it as a condition of enrollment at any point this year. We have had a few questions from families about viewing the agreement terms. You will need to sign and submit the form version at the link I sent Friday, but the text itself is posted at https://news.dartmouth.edu/covid-19/academic-year-2020-21-return-campus-plan/community-expectations-students.
To those of you who let us know that you wanted to be on the fall waitlist, we are working through that now, and will let you know if you have been approved by the end of the day tomorrow. Those approved can expect to have room and arrival date assignments, like everyone else, by the end of the week.
As I've said before, we will share a lot of information this week about planning for the start of fall term and arrival information for everyone who has been approved for on-campus enrollment. It is true that this will be a big week. Room assignments and assigned arrival dates will be coming to you from Residential Life at the end of the week - either Thursday or Friday. I will let you know the morning that we launch, and will also be providing a link to a new fall arrival page that will include the currently available information about pre-arrival testing, pre-arrival planning, what you can expect on your assigned day of arrival, how the first 14 days of your time here will work, what new students can expect from our virtual New Student Orientation, what you can all expect when classes begin on the 14th, and the programs, events and activities available to all of you - whether you are enrolled on campus or remotely - over the course of the fall term. We still won't have all of the answers, but you'll have everything we know at this point that can help you prepare for the start of the year.
Finally, I want to say that although there is tremendous focus at the moment on how we will function here on campus as we work through new operational details, our goal this year is to create the best possible academic experience we can no matter where you are in the world. The staff and the faculty are continuing to work around the clock to integrate student feedback and to implement the best advice from our health experts so that we can create a safe, yet vibrant and engaging, Dartmouth experience for everyone. I know that you've all heard President Hanlon and Provost Helble say that it's going to take all of us working together to make this year a success. Not only does that mean that we all -- students, faculty, and staff - must adapt our personal preferences and familiar ways of doing things, it also means taking active steps to protect and safeguard this community and the people who comprise it. And that's true no matter where you are in the world -- on campus, here in Hanover or the Upper Valley or somewhere else entirely. This is truly a one Dartmouth moment, where our actions, no matter where they occur, matter. They matter because we all matter -- and as a community, we will see this through.
I'll be back again before the end of the week. All my best-
Dean Lively