Dear Pitzer College Students, Faculty and Staff:
The Pitzer College Student Affairs staff, the Dean of Faculty’s office, Human Resources, Study Abroad, the President’s office and other staff are carefully monitoring the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus and its impacts abroad and at home. To date, no students, faculty or staff have been diagnosed with the virus at The Claremont Colleges. However, there is some specific information to share at this time.
Study Abroad
Last week, the College suspended its study
abroad program in Parma, Italy. The Nepal program will also be suspended this
week. Students will return to their homes while we transition their course of
study to account for this disruption. These decisions were made after
careful consideration of the potential health risks and travel complications.
In Parma, restrictions imposed by the Italian government made it unfeasible for
the academic program to continue. We continue to evaluate the circumstances in
all of our study abroad locations and remain in constant contact with program
directors, partners and students in those locations. Our priority has and will
continue to be the safety and well-being of our students and colleagues abroad.
In addition, we are closely monitoring the viability of our summer and fall
study abroad programs. We have not made any decisions about those programs at
this point but please understand that we may need to alter plans depending on
the circumstances.
International Travel
The State Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued COVID-19 travel advisories for
| China | (Level 3 – Widespread sustained transmission and restrictions on entry to US) |
| Iran | (Level 3 – Widespread sustained transmission and restrictions on entry to US) |
| South Korea | (Level 3 – Widespread sustained transmission) |
| Italy | (Level 3 – Widespread sustained transmission) |
| Japan | (Level 2 – Sustained community transmission) |
| Hong Kong | (Level 1 – Limited community transmission) |
In light of the rapid spread of COVID-19, we
recommend that all students, faculty and staff exercise extreme caution regarding
international travel due to uncertainty about changing foreign and airline
restrictions that may affect your ability to return to the US at the conclusion
of your trip.
Campus Planning Efforts
On campus, contingency planning continues on
many fronts:
This situation is very fluid with new
information surfacing rapidly. I encourage all members of our community to
think ahead and be prepared to adapt to disruptions in their regular routines
as we respond to these challenges in the coming weeks and months.
Thank you for following recommended precautions to protect your health and the health of the Pitzer community during this period of risk. We are focused upon your safety and well-being.
Melvin L. Oliver
President
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