FREDONIA, N.Y. — SUNY Fredonia will resume full in-person instruction in the fall semester, school president Stephen H. Kolison Jr. announced Wednesday.
Kolison said a need for updated public health guidance from both Chautauqua County and New York State health officials remains in place, and that backup plans, including remote and hybrid models, would be explored.
"I am hopeful as I read about positive cases declining in our region as a whole, more vaccines being approved, more mass vaccination sites like ours being established, and more projections that the majority of Americans will be vaccinated by midsummer," Kolison said in a statement.
"I believe it is OK for us to begin imagining a fall semester that allows for more in-person connections. It is my hope that we should be able to return to a more familiar setting of in-person instruction and extracurricular activities this fall."
He added that while the fall semester remains months away, the hope is that an increase in safety protocols and vaccinations will make the transition back to campus classrooms possible.
"For the most part, the Fredonia community has been impressive this semester in following proper protocols and participating in surveillance testing," Kolison said. "While some of these protocols may need to continue, we are hopeful that those elements and expanded vaccinations will allow for a healthy and safe campus this fall."
Like most colleges and grade schools across New York State and nationwide, SUNY Fredonia moved away from in-person instruction when the coronavirus pandemic struck a year ago.
