My Weekly Message on Fall Planning: Vaccination Rates and Town Halls

August 18, 2021

Members of the Rutgers Community:

As promised last week, I intend to keep you updated in the weeks leading up to the fall semester as we prepare for a safe and full return to our campuses. Please know that the university continues to monitor the public health guidance of the federal and state authorities, although there are times when we will exceed those guidelines in order to ensure your health and safety.

EVEN HIGHER VACCINATION RATES: The most encouraging news to share is that Rutgers students have now achieved an outstanding 99.5 percent rate of compliance with our requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19. That percentage includes a small cohort (approximately 1.2 percent of our nearly 71,000 students subject to the requirement) who have applied for and received medical and religious exemptions. We are proud of and grateful to our students for their cooperation and promptness.

Faculty and staff vaccination uploads have increased dramatically over the past week, especially among faculty. For example, among our AAUP-AFT regular faculty, our most up-to-date records indicate that 97 percent are either fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, or waived from vaccination. Our overall faculty and staff vaccine record uploads have reached 82 percent; we are working to increase those numbers. For those employees who have not yet scheduled a vaccination, we strongly encourage you to do so as soon as possible, and we continue to offer walk-in vaccinations in Camden, Newark, and Piscataway.

With such strong vaccination numbers among our population, especially our student body, Rutgers continues to be one of the safest places in New Jersey. And because we are keeping in place safety measures including required face-coverings indoors, weekly testing for unvaccinated individuals, and physical distancing in office environments, our faculty members can feel confident in our commitment to their health as they return to their classrooms and offices.

CAMPUS TOWN HALLS: This week, to supplement the messages you have received from me and from the chancellors and other administration leaders, we have provided opportunities to hear from Executive Vice President Antonio Calcado and other senior leaders via virtual town halls. Rutgers–New Brunswick held its town hall Monday (click to watch a recording), Rutgers–Camden’s took place on Tuesday, and Rutgers–Newark will go Thursday. These town halls have enabled our community to ask good questions and receive clear answers, some of which will inform updates of our Guide to Returning to Rutgers.

I will be in touch again next week with continued updates, and with any information culled from the town halls that would be beneficial to reinforce with our entire community. Best wishes to those students who will be moving in this coming weekend; we look forward to seeing you on campus.

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Holloway
President and University Professor