Responding to Covid-19

Quick Links

Return-to-Better

 

Active cases
includes faculty/staff and students, both on and off campus
Recovered
includes faculty/staff and students, both on and off campus
Total
includes faculty/staff and students, both on and off campus
Last updated 05/13/2022

Total: Total number of cases (Active and Recovered) among Students, Faculty, and Staff, both on and off campus, since tracking began for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Active: Positive cases not yet recovered.
Recovered: Able to resume normal activities.

As of Friday, May 13, 2022, we have suspended tracking cases for the 2021-2022 Academic Year.

To date, no cases of COVID-19 among the community of Edgewood College have required hospitalization. 

 

 

Return to Better

We are committed to a return to classes on campus and in-person when the 2021-‘22 academic year gets underway.

Our students expect to engage with our outstanding faculty and with one another – both in and out of the classroom – and they expect to do that in-person, in one of the best college towns in America – Madison.  That's why we are committed to teaching and learning in classrooms, and in-person, this fall.

Our Return to Better Task Force is taking steps to make that happen - not to return to ‘normal,’ but to return to better, applying all the lessons we have learned and continue to learn through the experience of the pandemic.

Protocol Update - Masks Required Indoors

August 4, 2021

We are not out of this pandemic. Effective Thursday, August 5, 2021, masks are required inside campus buildings for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors. This requirement applies to everyone - those who are fully-vaccinated, and those who are not. As a valued member of the community, you will hear when this latest update to our protocol is no longer necessary. We do this for each other, because from the beginning of this pandemic, we have shown each other and Greater Madison that we live our values of Community and Compassion.

Again - getting vaccinated – for all who are eligible – is the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We urge each member of our community to be vaccinated. 

-Dr. Heather Harbach
V.P. for Student Development/Dean of Students

Update

July 1, 2021

As a community we have followed the guidance of our public health professionals since the beginning of this pandemic. The CDC and the Wis. Department of Health Services recommends that all who are eligible be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Therefore, we too are strongly urging each member of our community to be vaccinated.

Students – we have created a simple form for you to update your COVID-19 vaccination status, and have sent you the link via email. You will indicate whether you have been vaccinated, whether you plan to but have not yet, or whether you do not plan to be vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Please complete this simple form now, and no later than Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021.

There will be continued updates for students as we approach our fall semester, including some very attractive reasons for completing the form. (Did someone say ‘big scholarships?’ And ‘free parking spaces?’) Please remember to check your email often throughout the summer.

If you have any questions, please email deanofstudents@edgewood.edu. If you need assistance finding a vaccination appointment, reach out, we are here to help! 

Enjoy your summer!

-Dr. Heather Harbach
V.P. for Student Development/Dean of Students

Student, Faculty, and Staff Pledge 2020-21

Preventing the spread

In order to do everything we can to keep all of our community as safe as possible, the Edgewood College community will adhere to a number of safety protocols during the 2020-2021 Academic Year as a way of minimizing risk of the spread of COVID-19. These protocols are based on guidelines provided by Public Health Madison Dane County.

As a member of this Community, I will…

  • Wash my hands properly and regularly.
  • Cover any coughs or sneezes.
  • Comply with posted Public Health Madison Dane County requirements.  
  • Wear a mask covering my nose and mouth while in indoor spaces.
  • Maintain social distancing.
  • Assist in the use of disinfectant wipes to clean shared public workspaces prior to use.
  • Take reasonable precautions to avoid contracting COVID-19 both on- and off-campus.
  • Avoid public places and minimize interpersonal contacts if I have been exposed or have any symptoms of any illness.
  • Report any potential exposure or symptoms to the College and follow any instructions to seek medical care or to quarantine.
  • Agree to be tested for COVID-19, as prescribed by health care professionals. Agree to be cooperative and flexible as we work together to support one another and give our community the best balance of learning and safety.

COVID-19 Reporting for 2020-21

We tracked positive cases of COVID-19 beginning in August of 2020. Data includes students, faculty, and staff. This data includes both on-campus and off-campus students, faculty, and staff. We reached a peak of active cases (28) on September 19-20, 2020. 

For 2020-21, we managed a total of 171 positive cases. None of those cases are associated with on-campus transmission. No case required hospitalization, and all cases reported as recovered.

 

 

Covid-19 Updates

These pages are a resource for students, parents, and our entire community.

 

Update on Commencement

Apr 29, 2020, 3:00 PM

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff

There are few experiences that match the feeling of completing a college degree – undergraduate, masters, or doctoral. For our students who are finishing up their requirements for their degree, and were planning to mark the occasion at our commencement ceremony next month, there is deep disappointment; after all of their struggles, all of their hard work, fulfilling so many shared goals, they will not be able to participate in May as all of us had planned. 

Today, I am formally inviting them, and their family and friends, to our Commencement in May 2021. They are receiving this invitation today in a separate email, along with details about next steps, and details about our COR of Commencement. This special delivery sent to them in no way will replace the joy and celebration of our Commencement. We do pray that it reminds them of the enormous accomplishment of earning a college degree – at every level.

I continue to work closely with Margaret Noreuil, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs/Academic Dean, as we navigate these challenging waters. If I had been blessed to confer degrees at that most important academic ceremony, this is what I would have shared with the graduates, and all in attendance:

“Congratulations, dear Graduates, all of you who have studied so long and so hard to arrive at this moment! You have been smart, hard-working, curious and challenging. You have searched for Truth in every class. As you begin the journey, diploma in hand, to another road in your life, I am confident that you will take with you the values that have found their space deep within you at Edgewood College, the values of Truth, Justice, Compassion, Partnership and Community. I am confident that your life will reflect these values, and that these values will return to you as well. I am confident that you will each be a blessing to all those you come in contact with, as you are committed to building a just and compassionate world.” 

I am also in touch with our incoming President, Dr. Andrew Manion. He asked if he too might send a message to those completing their degrees, and includes a generous proposition:

I have not met any of you yet, but I share your disappointment that we have had to cancel commencement this year. That said, I believe each of you has earned your moment on the stage in front of your loved ones, being honored for the accomplishment of earning your degree. So, I have worked with the commencement committee to come up with a way for you to do so. When the “Safer at Home” order has been lifted or modified to allow small group gatherings, every graduating student will be invited to arrange a short, private commencement ceremony with me. 

We will do these throughout the summer. When you sign up for a day and time, you and your family will be invited to my office, where you will be in cap and gown, I will confer your degree, and pictures will be taken as I hand you your diploma. You will be asked to “move your tassel to the left” as is traditional, and you will receive the Dominican Blessing. The whole “ceremony” will be about 5 minutes. While this won’t have quite the pomp and circumstance of a full-scale commencement ceremony, it will be personalized for you and should be a memorable experience for you and your family (and you won’t have to sit through speeches).

Of course, if you cannot make it to Madison for a private ceremony, Dr. Gevelinger and I look forward to welcoming you to Commencement in May 2021, where you will be specially honored. Congratulations on persevering through the strangest spring semester in history, and on the completion of your degree.

-Andrew P. Manion, Ph.D.

I hope that you, like me, appreciate Dr. Manion’s reaching out to our graduates this way.

Thank you for the role each of you plays in making our community one that models compassion and partnership. As we’ve said before these are new and challenging times, and it’s important that we hold each other in our hearts.

Best wishes for all of you for a strong finish to this semester, and be well.