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COVID-19 update for April 3

April 03, 2020

COVID-19 Update April 3, 2020

Following please find several important updates for the Roanoke College community as we continue to work through changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic and address the Virginia Governor’s most recent Stay at Home order. 

Retrieval of Belongings At this time, we cannot allow students to return to campus to retrieve their belongings. On March 30, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued an executive order asking that people stay in their homes unless they have an essential need to leave. The Governor’s order is effective until June 10 so we anticipate it will be at least mid-June before we can begin the process of safely allowing students back in the residence halls to collect their belongings. 

We understand this is a significant inconvenience, but we must safeguard the campus community and limit access to the residence halls. We are closely monitoring guidance from the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC, and know that a significant number of individuals who are infected remain asymptomatic. We are working to ensure that the virus is not unintentionally brought to campus. Additionally, Virginia has a growing number of COVID-19 cases and the Governor’s Stay at Home order includes strict limits on gatherings.

We will announce the protocol for retrieval plans at the earliest, by mid-June, as long as the Governor’s Stay at Home order is lifted by the June 10 deadline and there are no other federal, state or local directives that inhibit our plans or the safety of campus.

We deeply regret the disruption and inconvenience caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the new regulations being put in place to stop its spread. We are grateful for your understanding in realizing this matter is largely outside of the College’s control. Please refer to the College’s website for the most recent information about our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, or contact Residence Life & Housing reslife@roanoke.edu or 540-375-2308 with questions.

Summer Research, Internships and Summer Scholars The college will cancel all on-campus research and internships as well as housing this summer. Related to this, we have canceled the Summer Scholars program as well. Details follow:

    1. No housing will be provided this summer for students conducting research or a local internship.
    2. On-campus research for students is canceled. This means that no student will be allowed on campus to conduct their research project. If a student is able to work remotely on a research project, that will still be allowed.
    3. Students may participate in an internship either locally or elsewhere; however, they will not be allowed on campus during this time.
    4. The 2020 Summer Scholars program is canceled. We considered supporting only those projects which could be done remotely; however this would create inequities as most projects in the sciences could not be done this way. The decision was made to cancel the entire program in hopes of supporting more projects next summer.
    5. For those departments that support summer research through departmental and endowed funds, this will be allowed provided this work can be done remotely.

Please contact Dr. Rich Grant, associate dean for academic affairs and student engagement, with any questions at grant@roanoke.edu or 540-375-2430. 

Library Closure The Fintel Library will be closing at the end of the day today, Friday, April 3, and will remain closed until further notice.   

During the closure, Fintel Library staff are still working to fulfill your resource and research assistance needs. You may continue to work with your subject librarian. For personalized reference assistance, small group instruction, and appointment-based research services, your subject librarian will employ a variety of tools to facilitate the "in-person" experience (e.g. interactive chat, SKYPE, ZOOM, or other free screen sharing tools). Research appointments can be arranged at a mutually convenient time.  

Telephone reference assistance is also available (call 540-375-2294 or text 540-318-0753). Hours for virtual assistance are 8.a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. If you have an urgent request for a physical item from Fintel’s collections, please email circulation@roanoke.edu. For any physical items that you may have checked out, we ask you not to return items to the library until campus operations return to normal.  Thank you and we look forward to assisting you virtually during this time.

Additional Resources for Students Faculty and Staff The College’s COVID-19 page now has a Resource Page for students and another Resource Page for faculty and staff. Information includes summaries of new academic policies, ideas for managing anxiety, mental health resources and tips for effectively working and studying from home.

Also on the COVID-19 page, you will find a link to the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia’s new COVID-19 page with additional useful information for students and their families.