March 12, 2020: COVID-19 Update

Dear students, faculty and staff members,

This week, Louisiana recorded its first cases of COVID-19, or coronavirus. In the days since, several Louisiana universities have announced plans to institute remote class instruction to mitigate the virus’ spread. Those universities are in the New Orleans area, where the majority of the cases are.

Remote classroom instruction is among several scenarios UL Lafayette is discussing should it become necessary for the campus to reduce operations. University personnel continue to meet several times daily to work through many different options that assure continuity of instruction, business operations, residence hall functionality, dining, health services, and other essentials.

As of this writing, there are no cases of COVID-19 in Lafayette, and we are using this opportunity to ensure that the plans we put in place will work so we can minimize disruption to University operations and student services.

Comprehensive and thoughtful planning will help us return to normal operations as quickly as we can.

The University continues to work closely with the Louisiana Office of Public Health to get essential information to the campus community as quickly as we can. I want to urge you to continue to monitor University email, official social media accounts and this page dedicated to COVID-19 updates for the latest. 

Many of you are anxious. That’s perfectly understandable in a situation such as this. But I want to assure you that when we say that the health and safety of our University family is our primary concern, we mean it. Ensuring your wellbeing during times such as these requires systematic and thorough planning, and that’s what we’re working every day to do.

Sincerely,

Dr. Joseph Savoie
President