Dear Colleagues,

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf declared this evening that “all non-life-sustaining businesses” must close their physical locations by 8 p.m. today in the interest of public health and welfare.

I know that every College department and office has made the shift to working remotely over the past few days and the current level of the College’s operations allows us to comply with the Governor’s directive while also continuing to support those students living on our campus. The Governor’s announcement does underscore the importance of everyone minimizing their presence on campus to the greatest extent possible. I ask that you come to campus only when it is absolutely necessary; if you do have to be on campus, minimize your time, avoid contact with others, and constrain the areas you visit.

I know that this will make teaching remotely even more difficult for the faculty and will impinge on the speed with which Lafayette can conduct even routine operations. However, aggressive steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 are the best tools that we have to address this deadly pandemic.

For your own health and for the health of your family and communities, we need everyone’s cooperation in this matter.

Many thanks,

President Alison Byerly