Tuscaloosa, AL,06-30-Stillman College will reopen the campus to students, faculty, and staff in August, with several differences to be noted. While the return to work date is August 1, some may continue teleworking from home in order to maintain social distance guidelines and to keep the campus as safe as possible. Those who do return to work on campus will be required to wear a mask and to maintain appropriate guidelines as indicated in the Return to Work Plan published by the College.All campus constituencies will be required to be testedfor COVID-19during the first week of August, with faculty and staff tested in the Maude Whatley Health Center mobile testing unit on campus on August 4 and 5. Faculty will return to campus on August 10 for the Fall 2020 Opening Institute, which is the opening meeting for planning and sharing of information for the new academic year.Students will return to a campus that is much changed in terms of the guidelines for social distancing. There will be designated spaces for social gatherings that will allow for the maintenance of the CDC prescribed six feet of social distancing. Classes will begin on August 19, as scheduled, and will be delivered in three modes of instruction, face to face, hybrid, and fully online. Some face to face classes will be redesigned so that staggered meeting sessions will allow for appropriate distancing in the classrooms. All student housing will be single-occupancy and students will have designated time for meal service at the Hay Center dining services. Directed traffic flows for entrances and exits to the buildings will reduce the ability of the virus to spread.Planning is underway for the 2020 Commencement Ceremony in the Stadium on Saturday, September 5. The graduating class will be allowed a limited number of guests who will sit in designated spaces in order to provide for the safety of all who attend. Masks will be required. While the College will modify its standard program due to the requirements of safety during the pandemic, it will celebrate the graduation of over one hundred candidates who have successfully completed their courses of study and have already begun the next phase of their journey, whether in graduate or professional school or in employment.Stillman College is a liberal arts institution, authorized by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the United States in 1875. ###
