March 5 Safe Return update

Greetings College Community!

As announced earlier this week, today is National Employee Appreciation Day so I'd like to start out my Friday update with a sincere thank you to all employees. As I mentioned in an earlier email, the past 12 months have been some of the most challenging in St. Scholastica's history. Without your dedication and courage, we would not be where we are today, fulfilling our mission and promise to our students. Our Saints Community, across the state and beyond, have been nothing short of outstanding. I can't begin to thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the College. I have so much appreciation for how this Community has stepped up to the challenges created by the pandemic and the sacrifices you've made to keep the College going. On behalf of the Cabinet and from my heart, thank you for caring for one another and for our students! St. Scholastica is truly a special community!

A few updates:

COVID-19:

• COVID-19: New CDC and MDH quarantine guidance for fully vaccinated individuals:

As the vaccination process continues to roll out, we are seeing more and more St. Scholastica community members able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.  Under the new guidance, if someone has completed COVID-19 vaccination (two doses in a two-dose series or one dose in a one-dose series) and is exposed to someone that is COVID-19 positive, they do not need to quarantine if ALL of the following are true: 

• The COVID-19 exposure was at least 14 days after their vaccination series was fully completed.
• The COVID-19 exposure was within 90 days of their final dose of the vaccination series.
• They do not currently have any symptoms of COVID-19. 

Even after a person has recovered from COVID-19 or is fully vaccinated they should still continue to stay distanced, wear a mask that fits well, wash their hands often and follow other precautions.

• COVID-19 vaccine update:

The College is in the process of working with St. Louis County Emergency Operations Center to establish a community based COVID-19 vaccination distribution center on our campus. We are in the early stages of the planning process and hope that this will occur by the end of May and go into the summer session. The College is also working closely with the Minnesota Department of Health and the College has been approved to be a community vaccination site. We will continue to keep you updated as things develop.

In the meantime, for those of you who are looking to be vaccinated, MDH has launched the COVID-19 Vaccine Connector. The Vaccine Connector is the next step of the state's vaccination strategy to meet Minnesotans where they are and connect them to vaccine opportunities, no matter where they live or their personal circumstances. When Minnesotans become eligible, the Vaccine Connector will alert them of their eligibility; connect them to resources to schedule an appointment; and notify them if there are vaccination opportunities in their area. We encourage you to register!

The Wisconsin Department of Health has also established a website for those looking to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Their website can be found at: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/vaccine-get.htm

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion news:

• EDI is pleased to announce that the One Campus One Read: A Good Time For The Truth author panel is now scheduled from 6 to 7:15 p.m. on April 8. Please join us virtually as we welcome Editor Sun Yung Shin and authors JaeRan Kim, Shannon Gibney and Diane Wilson. This will be a virtual discussion followed by a question and answer session. As we near the completion of our inaugural One Campus One Read initiative this will be a great way to engage with some of the authors of the book. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us. 
• In honor of Women's Herstory Month the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has put together resources and event listings. Please find that document here.

Athletics update:

• The winter playoff and spring sports seasons are now underway. Last evening the Women's Basketball team fell short against Northwestern in the first round of basketball playoffs while the Men's team defeated Northland and will host the next round of the UMAC tournament as the #1 seeded team and still remain undefeated this season.
• This weekend the Men's Track and Field team will compete for a conference championship while Volleyball, Softball and Baseball compete on the road. Next week, Nordic Ski will send five student-athletes to the NCAA National Championship which is the most in program history. Men's and Women's Hockey will begin their playoff run next week and the Women's have clinched the divisional top seed with an undefeated record. All teams continue to test a minimum of 2x per week and continue to adhere to NCAA SSI and MDH protocols for college sports. The spectator policy still remains in place as only 2 guests per participating student-athletes and staff are allowed on site. 

Advocating for the State Grant Program:

Thank you to all who responded to my earlier email to reach out to our legislators in support of the MN State Grant Program which is so important to our students. Over 139 CSS Saints sent over 400 emails and I am so appreciative of your participation! Way to go Saints! If you haven't had a chance to participate yet, there is still time. It only takes a few minutes and your advocacy goes a long way in making this a priority in this year's legislative session. Please click here to share your support. 

Saints Shop hours update:

Beginning on March 8, the Saints Shop will reopen for business on Mondays. Come and shop with us from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. We hope to see you soon!  

Media share: 

Recently Dr. Amy Bergstrom participated in an interview on her role as Chief Diversity Officer and the EDI office. Here's a link to the video clip, which is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/KYFski1jQwY  Enjoy!

Have a wonderful and safe weekend ahead, be sure to get out and enjoy this early spring weather!

Be well,
President McDonald