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From the Desk of Willie Brown

Willie Brown portrait
By Willie Brown - June 8, 2021

Summer & Fall Planning Updates

Before I update you on the latest, I first want to take a moment to celebrate the HDAE COVID Support Team for winning the William J. Villa Service to Students Award! The nomination included those working in the testing centers, as contact tracers, and with the quarantine/isolation housing program. Equally exciting is Jenn Ja Birchim’s selection as a Getman Award recipient. These annual awards recognize university staff, faculty, and departments that have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the general growth and development of students and the quality of student life. All of our teams have done truly amazing work this year. I'm looking forward to celebrating all our successes at our next Town Hall meeting.

As Spring Quarter has progressed, summer plans have been moving along well. Summer programs are expanding, all of which will have an in-person option. Second Year Summer is a new program for students heading into their second year which will offer a taste of freshman year that they may have missed due to the pandemic. Participants will have the option of living in Anacapa Residence Hall. Participants in Freshman Summer Start and Transfer Edge, existing programs that will be offered in both remote and in-person formats, will have the option to live in San Nicolas Residence Hall and Sierra Madre Villages respectively.

For Fall Quarter plans, I’ve continued to work with campus leadership to determine our occupancy. Much of this is contingent on the announcement Governor Newsom is scheduled to make on June 15th which will dictate public health directives and determine our housing capacity. We are awaiting a clear message before we move forward. The goal is to go back to the same occupancy as Fall 2019, which is 10,000 residents, or at least to our built capacity, which is 8,000+ residents. I anticipate having more information to share within the next few weeks and then the University & Community Housing Services team can begin the notification process to students in early July.

It has been 15 months since some of us left our offices not knowing when we would be able to return to working in-person. As we begin to transition from a reduced density to a more robust Fall Quarter in our work and housing spaces, it is imperative that we continue to grow the rate of vaccination in our community. Following a very challenging year, safe and effective vaccines have created a path to return to normalcy. I urge those of you who have not yet been vaccinated to learn more about scheduling your shots below.

I am looking forward to the fall and seeing you all soon in person. As we carefully make our way back to campus, please take some time to rest and recharge this summer!


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