Office of the President
Dec. 21, 2020
Last Friday Governor Whitmer announced that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is extending the Gatherings and Face Masks epidemic order, enacted on Nov. 15 and again on Dec. 7, to curb rising COVID-19 infection rates. As a part of this, Michigan colleges and universities were asked to delay the return of undergraduate students for spring semester until Friday, Jan. 15, 2021.
Classes will begin as scheduled on Monday, Jan. 11, at all Ferris State University locations. As a part of state orders, in-person classes will be delivered remotely from Monday, Jan. 11 until Tuesday, Jan. 19. Clinical placements will continue as planned. Additional information is available from the Dean’s Offices in Health Professions, Optometry and Pharmacy.
The Governor’s office recognizes the significant efforts public universities have made to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. These include data that virus spread is not occurring inside classrooms. As a result, the MDHHS has removed some previous mandated requirements for colleges and universities. This will be helpful as we move forward.
These changes involve a considerable amount of work for many of you to move instruction to remote delivery and to adjust campus housing/auxiliary operations for a delayed spring semester move-in. However, this is preferable to other state-mandated requirements that could have been included in the MDHHS epidemic order.
As you make these necessary adjustments for spring semester, I thank you for your assistance in helping our students. Together we will work through these changes and keep Ferris State University a safe, healthy workplace and learning environment.
Please accept my best wishes for a healthful, joyous and safe holiday season.
David L. Eisler, president