Coronavirus, Spring Practice and School Closings

[Otis Day]

This thread derailment is offending this grandson of a longtime Dekalb salesman and farmer.

[Otis Day]

I missed a bit in there:

-All staff and faculty have been asked not to return to campus, unless their jobs absolutely require them to do so.

-All staff and faculty with young children and no other options for care will be allowed to make arrangements as necessary with no damage to sick leave or PTO.

-Research deemed non-major will be discontinued. Major research will be allowed to continue. The only research allowed to expand has to be related to COVID-19.


I would expect Minnesota State to follow closely behind.

This is more or less what has happened down here at Vanderbilt. All the University research labs have been shutdown and we are work from home for minimum 2 weeks. The Vanderbilt Medical Center is continuing operations for the time being, because of their support to the hospital and clinics. Wild times.

The undergrads were sent home last week? Seems like ages ago. But what really set the wheels in motion was a student returning from Spain for spring break who came down with symptoms and tested positive. He went straight home to isolate but 10 of his buddies were confirmed positive this week. Confirming the shut down was a good call at the time.

[laker]

This thread derailment is offending this grandson of a longtime Dekalb salesman and farmer.

Equal time must be allowed.

[laker]

And, to further derail things on this misty day, I have several of these pins that I was awarded in FFA. Attended the 302 Bushel Challenge banquet in Marshall too!

[Otis Day]

Equal time must be allowed.

Ahhhhh there we go.... My 40 year old Dekalb foam-lined trucker style hat is still one of the most comfortable hats I own. Thanks gramps.

[SW_Mustang]

The University of Minnesota - Twin Cities has backtracked on it's cancellation of commencement ceremonies, saying they are now just postponed.

I'm not entirely sure how that applies to every campus of the University of Minnesota - sometimes they can be a little weird in their governance like that. Sometimes every campus functions as a satellite of the mothership, sometimes they are their own separate institutions. Minnesota State does not operate like this, at least to the same degree.

Even more weird, I can't find any information on Rochester's campus and their COVID-19 plans. I just assumed that if the other four closed, they would as well.

[SW_Mustang]

This is more or less what has happened down here at Vanderbilt. All the University research labs have been shutdown and we are work from home for minimum 2 weeks. The Vanderbilt Medical Center is continuing operations for the time being, because of their support to the hospital and clinics. Wild times.

The undergrads were sent home last week? Seems like ages ago. But what really set the wheels in motion was a student returning from Spain for spring break who came down with symptoms and tested positive. He went straight home to isolate but 10 of his buddies were confirmed positive this week. Confirming the shut down was a good call at the time.

Interesting - are you a grad student at Vandy or do you work there?

I don't know much about them but I know they are a really solid research school. Anyway, to my knowledge, the U is the only college in Minnesota with a confirmed case, which is why their measures are so much more drastic than MSU and the bulk of the private schools.

[laker]

Rochester:

COVID-19 ANNOUNCEMENT
RCTC classes will now resume with alternative delivery formats on MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020. Visit RCTC.EDU/CORONAVIRUS for the latest information.
Date Posted: March 15, 2020 - 9:52 pm

March 17 update: Spring 2020 commencements at all Minnesota State colleges and universities are cancelled.

[laker]

Interesting - are you a grad student at Vandy or do you work there?

Otis is actually Mr. Commodore. He is the women's volleyball and softball coach at Vandy.

[SW_Mustang]

Minnesota operates one of the top medical schools in the country - if not the entire world, and it's not the U. That's why I've been keeping track of what the Mayo Clinic colleges are looking to do in regards to their courses. It's pretty interesting and drastically different than most of the other schools.

Here's the link:

https://college.mayo.edu/covid19/

Some interesting highlights:

-All courses/labs/etc over 10 people have been cancelled or transitioned online.
-Clinicals will continue, except COVID-19 cases.
-Work on research projects will continue outside of labs (things like virtual experiments and data analysis)

[SW_Mustang]

Otis is actually Mr. Commodore. He is the women's volleyball and softball coach at Vandy.

Hahaha, what a sweet gig.

That's one campus I'd love to visit someday.

[SW_Mustang]

There are only two colleges left "standing" based on the information I have. Hazelden Graduate School has closed since my last update.

Minnesota:

-Adler Graduate School

South Dakota:

-Sinte Gleska University

Adler is a very, very tiny school in Minnetonka. They have not been providing updates on their website or through social media - for the sake of assuming, my guess is that they will continue to operate until further restrictions are handed down from the Feds, State, and the CDC, or unless the virus begins to affect the surrounding community.

SGU's official statement lists them as being open Monday and Tuesday, closed Wednesday-Friday for non-instructional staff workdays, and then proceeding into Spring Break as normal. They will then re-evaluate after spring break.

[Otis Day]

Interesting - are you a grad student at Vandy or do you work there?

I don't know much about them but I know they are a really solid research school. Anyway, to my knowledge, the U is the only college in Minnesota with a confirmed case, which is why their measures are so much more drastic than MSU and the bulk of the private schools.

Oh Laker. Never Change.

I'm a PhD student at Vandy, in infectious disease (shoulder shrug). COVID-19 is just increasing my future job prospects I keep telling myself.

[laker]

Oh Laker. Never Change. I thought you would appreciate that humor. Or lack of the same!

I'm a PhD student at Vandy, in infectious disease (shoulder shrug). COVID-19 is just increasing my future job prospects I keep telling myself.

Or decreasing your number of potential patients!

[SW_Mustang]

Rochester:

COVID-19 ANNOUNCEMENT
RCTC classes will now resume with alternative delivery formats on MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020. Visit RCTC.EDU/CORONAVIRUS for the latest information.
Date Posted: March 15, 2020 - 9:52 pm

March 17 update: Spring 2020 commencements at all Minnesota State colleges and universities are cancelled.

If I'm correct, the timeline for RCTC is the same for all Minnesota State schools. I know MSU and SMSU are on the same schedule.