Dear New York Tech Community,

As always, your health and well-being are our highest priority. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of our decisions and protocols have been developed with that in mind as we adhered to federal, state, and local guidelines to keep our communities and campuses safe.

Now that COVID-19 vaccines are readily available to the general population, we continue to follow CDC and state guidelines and encourage everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As Dr. Brian Harper, our chief medical officer, reported in his most recent weekly update to the New York Tech community, nearly a third of all New Yorkers are already fully vaccinated. I can’t overestimate how much our university has benefitted from Dr. Harper’s background in public health and preventative medicine, as well as his expert guidance regarding ongoing public health issues, vaccine safety and availability, the benefits of herd immunity, resources, necessary protocols, and much more. His contributions, combined with the fact that we are home to a medical school, school of health professions, and academic health care centers, have been very advantageous from a public safety perspective during the pandemic.

Our plan is to return as close as is possible to our pre-COVID campus life—with an in-person presence and more traditional ways of teaching, learning, and working—this coming fall. At this time, we urge all members of our community to get vaccinated, because the vaccine will bring us one step closer to the normalcy we are all seeking. As more information and new guidelines become available, we plan to remain flexible about requiring vaccinations for all community members. We commend our medical college, NYITCOM, for requiring current and incoming students to be vaccinated, given their greater likelihood of exposure in clinical settings.

At some point in the future, proof of vaccination may be requested of our community members, thus we remind everyone (who has or will get vaccinated) to save vaccination records and/or go online to obtain a New York State Excelsior Pass to provide proof of vaccination.

In the coming days, weeks, and months, we will continue to plan for a fall semester that approaches more of the pre-pandemic normalcy than we’ve experienced of late. We will provide updates, including a “Return to Campus” policy for employees, later in the semester. I thank you for your patience and perseverance as we move toward a new post-COVID campus environment.

Sincerely,

Hank Foley, Ph.D.
President, New York Institute of Technology