Dear Albertus Magnus College Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Tomorrow, Wednesday, December 22 at noon, the College will officially close for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. As we prepare to take this winter pause, I write to share a couple updates in advance of when the College reconvenes for the spring 2022 semester.

My first topic concerns the location of my office. For nearly four decades, the President’s Office has been located in Mohun Hall. More recently, Mohun also has been the home of the Traditional Undergraduate Admissions and Advancement/Alumni Relations offices. Over the course of the past five years, as the admissions and advancement teams have grown, we have run out of space in Mohun. Mohun has served as a warm, inviting entry point for prospective students and their families, but it has lacked sufficient reception/presentation space, leaving Albertus at a disadvantage versus competitors. In order to enable the admissions and advancement teams to accommodate increased staffing and office-utilization needs, Executive Assistant to the President, Lynne Hennessy, and I will relocate our offices to Walsh Hall. As you know, Walsh is the home to the College’s St. Catherine of Siena Chapel, and until recently, the building’s two office/meeting spaces served as the locations for Albertus Board of Trustees' meetings. With the recent renovation of the Hubert Campus Center, Trustee meetings now occur in the Behan Community Room, and the Walsh Hall rooms have been underutilized. While Lynne and I will miss the tradition of being in Mohun, we look forward to being in Walsh, within closer proximity to the daily activity of Albertus students, faculty, and staff. We will be in Walsh effective with the reopening of the College after the winter holiday break, on Monday, January 3.

My next topic is of a more serious nature. We all have seen in recent weeks, especially since the Thanksgiving holiday, that the COVID-19 Omicron variant has led to a significant surge in infections around the nation. In late June, we announced the College’s decision to require the COVID-19 vaccination of all students and employees, acknowledging the science that clearly reveals vaccination as the single best measure we have to promote and protect the health and well-being of the Albertus community. Throughout the fall semester, because of our community’s compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine requirement and its commitment to safety protocols, less than 35 of our community members were infected. More recently, the science again clearly reveals that those who are fully vaccinated, particularly those who have received the booster doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, are the least likely to be infected with the Coronavirus and also much less likely to suffer from serious symptoms if a breakthrough infection occurs. Thus, once again in alignment with CDC guidance and along with a growing number of colleges (currently 50) in our region and nation, effective with the start of the spring 2022 semester Albertus Magnus College will require all students and employees who are booster-eligible to receive the booster. Please be on the lookout within the next 24-hours for a more detailed communication from the College’s COVID-19 Workgroup.

I am fully aware that we continue to live in unsettling, challenging times. On the one hand, our experiences at Albertus this fall were certainly more “normal” than a year ago, and I am unwavering in my belief that conditions will improve to a point where the personal interaction and engagement that defines us as members of the Albertus family will return. For now, however, we need to stay strong in our commitments to supporting and lifting each other. I am confident we can and will do so, and I am deeply grateful for your shared dedication. Please know that during the Christmas and winter holidays, you and those you love will be in my prayers of care, hope, and peace.

With appreciation,

Marc M. Camille, Ed.D.