March 4 Safe Return update

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to March! Our daylight is growing and, despite a winter storm watch for those of us in the Twin Ports, and substantial rain expected in southern Minnesota, we know that warmer, sunnier days are ahead. Today’s update is a short one!

Ukraine Prayer Service

My thanks to Campus Ministry, the Office of International Programs and our Facilities teams for pulling together the interfaith prayer service for Ukraine so swiftly and thoughtfully. The service took place at the Duluth Kenwood main campus at the Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel on Friday at 3 p.m. Following the service, we gathered at our campus peace pole to tie blue and yellow ribbons as symbols of our prayers and solidarity. 

Thank you for your prayers and support for our students, graduates, colleagues and friends who have been impacted by the devastating situation in Ukraine.  We also ask that you keep the Benedictine Sisters in Zhytomyr, Ukraine in your prayers.  They are facing a lot of difficulties finding safe passage from invading forces.  

Changes to masking guidance coming

On Monday, the Saints Rise Up committee will come together to discuss changes to our indoor masking policy in alignment with the latest CDC guidelines. As recently as late yesterday, for example, St. Louis County moved to “low transmission” status. We anticipate these changes to be welcome news for many; please stay tuned for a community-wide message early next week following consultation with our Saints Rise Up Steering committee on Monday morning.

All said, we know this announcement will also align with the distribution of our N95 masks. These masks will still be available next week for our students and employees engaging in in-person learning and working. For those of you who plan to travel during spring break, we hope the N95s will be especially valuable. 

Relatedly, our campus transmission rates have allowed us to adjust our COVID-19 alert level back to a Level 1. Many things to celebrate as we cautiously and optimistically look ahead.

I want to thank you all for the tremendous effort and support for our collective community as we have dealt with the rollercoaster of the pandemic. We are so glad to see things improving across our communities. Enjoy the weekend, and stay safe and well.

Barbara