Campus Update 5.17
Posted: May 17 2021
The following is a message from Williston State College president, Dr. John Miller:
Dear Teton Community:
The COVID-19 outbreak is the greatest and most comprehensive challenge WSC has ever faced. Throughout the pandemic, the college followed the same priorities to keep people safe while teaching and learning. The measures we put into place were driven by the best available data and designed to protect the health and safety of all students, faculty, staff, and stakeholders.
Our faculty, staff, and students were at their very best through this most difficult of times, and the cooperation you gave, as well as the genuine care you showed for each other, is worthy of my highest praise and deepest respect.
Williston State College is committed to a return to a more typical campus atmosphere as we move into the summer and prepare for the fall of 2021. We will reestablish a regular working and learning environment, reimplement a full schedule of student opportunities and activities, and once again make the WSC campus and facilities available for community members to use.
Beginning Monday May 17th, 2021, the mandatory mask requirement for campus (including the TrainND Northwest campus) will be lifted. In its place, mask use on campus and in campus facilities will be optional and at the discretion and choice of each person. The college will continue to supply disposable masks to employees and at major entrance points.
Limitations for meeting/event size, inclusion of spectators, limitations on campus visitations, and special provisions for food items provided or purchased for events held in WSC facilities, will likewise be removed.
Finally, limitations on faculty, staff, and student travel imposed as part of COVID-19 restrictions will revert to the regular WSC approval process and normal institutional and NDUS guidelines.
If transition plans proceed as expected, WSC campus operations, housing, and food service will return to pre-pandemic operational levels for the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.
All of us now understand just how fast situations can change during a pandemic, our plan for a return to regular campus operations will be based on a continuing decline in COVID numbers, positive vaccination trends, and a similar return to normalcy throughout the state and nation.
The college experience has always been about more than learning. It is supposed to provide students with new experiences, new viewpoints, new knowledge, and new friends. Students who attend Williston State College in the 2021-2022 school year will experience and enjoy a caring, culturally rich, and academically challenging environment.
There is no blueprint for what the world will look like as the pandemic fades from center stage. We will continue to rely on your feedback and support through your respective advocacy and governing groups as we build a future that is defined by the values and experiences that make Williston State College a place where “The People Make the Difference.”
Respectfully,
John Miller
President
Williston State College