Message from President Connell – The New Academic Year

Dear Current and Admitted Students, Faculty, Staff, and Parents:

As the spring 2020 semester concludes, please allow me to commend everyone in the ENC community for the outstanding work you have done in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the disruption was profound, your resilience, creativity, and graciousness were exemplary. I am proud and honored to be a member of this dedicated, talented educational community.

Our thoughts now turn to the fall 2020 semester, and the questions that are on everyone’s mind across higher education: what will the fall look like? Will colleges be able to reopen and resume in-person instruction and community life?

It is our strong hope and deep desire to reopen campus in the fall. We are planning with that goal in mind. The health and safety of our community will of course always be paramount, and we have a team that is meeting several times a week to develop the procedures and protocols that will help us open safely. We are carefully monitoring and following all guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and our local public health officials. We are committed to doing everything we can to provide a residential campus experience that will be conducive to everyone’s well-being.

I am sure there will be many changes to campus life. For example, we will have to rethink our approach to large group gatherings such as chapel and athletic events. Class sizes, dining arrangements, residence hall policies, cleaning protocols, and many other matters will need modification. We will be working on the many dimensions of this throughout the summer and will provide further information to you as decisions are finalized. In all of this, we are able to take advantage of our relatively small size in order to minimize risk.

As we all know, the situation with the pandemic remains fluid and requires us to stay flexible. At the same time that we are working hard to make it possible for you to return safely to campus, we are also pursuing alternate plans for a robust and meaningful experience if we are not able to reopen campus as planned. However, I want you to be confident that we are working with all diligence to make it possible for our students and employees to enjoy safely the vibrant campus community that characterizes ENC.

We joyfully anticipate seeing you here in Quincy in the fall and pray for God’s blessing and guidance in your lives and in our campus community. Please feel free to be in touch with my office with any questions, suggestions, or concerns.

Gratefully,