Dear students, faculty and staff members,

As you may know, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 16 and over on Monday.

The University of Louisiana System previously requested that the Louisiana Department of Health add COVID-19 to the schedule of required immunizations for students enrolled at all system institutions, including UL Lafayette, when a vaccine received full FDA approval.

Shortly following the FDA’s announcement this morning, LDH granted the system’s request.

Dear students, faculty and staff members,

Today, the University is launching the “Don’t Wait. Vaccinate!” incentives program that rewards students who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine and encourages those who have not to do so.

Fully vaccinated students are eligible to win one of 10 prizes in a series of drawings that begin Tuesday, Aug. 10, and continue through early October.

Prizes include two iPhone 12s, two MacBook Airs, two Oculus Quests, an Apple Watch, free campus parking, and two, $300 Declining Balances.

To participate, students must:

Dear students, faculty and staff members,

Starting this year and continuing annually, we will observe Juneteenth as a University holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It marks the day – June 19, 1865 – that enslaved Black people living in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom.

June 19 falls on a Saturday this year, but the University has set aside Friday, June 18, to honor Juneteenth. Campus will be closed, and classes will not be held.

Dear faculty and staff members,

We would like to thank you for your service to our students and the University community during the past semester and throughout the challenges of the previous year.

Your determination and resilience helped create a safe living, learning and working environment on campus since the pandemic began. Your efforts – in addition to low rates of infection and the wide availability of vaccines in our community – have made it possible for us to welcome you back to campus. 

Dear students, faculty and staff members,

This month is the one-year anniversary of the University’s transition to remote learning and business operations in response to COVID-19. Last spring, none of us could have fully anticipated how long the situation would last or the effects the pandemic would have on us as individuals, as an institution and as members of a wider community.

However, we did know this: whatever challenges lay ahead would be met with your resolve and resilience – and that’s exactly what happened.