HMC April 14 COVID-19 Update: Event Postponements and Cancellations

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

We would like to thank all of you for your flexibility as we continue to deal with an increase in COVID-19 positive cases across The Claremont Colleges. As of Wednesday afternoon at Harvey Mudd, we had 63 students who were in isolation, sheltering in place in their residence hall rooms. We have exhausted available isolation room resources, and are no longer able to use space at Pitzer College given their increase in cases. In order to help address this, we have returned to testing all students twice per week so that we may more quickly identify positive cases.

As has been the case since the beginning of the pandemic, our primary goals are to safeguard the health and safety of all members of our community while ensuring we can provide an outstanding education to our students. In these last few weeks of the semester, we are redoubling our efforts to support our students, faculty and staff so that they may successfully complete the semester.

In keeping with this commitment, we are making modifications to some upcoming events and activities on campus:

• Commencement 2022: We are committed to offering an in-person Commencement ceremony for our Class of 2022, with families in attendance. We have modified our weekend schedule of activities somewhat, consolidating all family events to occur on Sunday. As was the case for the 2020 and 2021 ceremonies held earlier this semester, masks and proof of vaccination and/or negative test results will be required for all attendees. Additional details are available on the Commencement website schedule of events.
• Alumni Weekend 2022: We are unfortunately forced to postpone the in-person Alumni Weekend originally scheduled for April 29 – May 1. We will provide alumni with refunds for their registration fees and in the coming weeks we will work on identifying new dates for the event. Alumni will receive a separate communication from the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations regarding rescheduling.
• Retirement Celebration for Faculty: The retirement celebration scheduled for 3-5 p.m.,  Friday, May 6, will be postponed to a later date. The Dean of Faculty will share additional details once a new date has been selected.
• May HMC Board of Trustees Meeting: The May 13-14 Board of Trustees meeting will continue as previously scheduled. The meeting will be offered as a hybrid event, with about 30 trustees attending in person and the rest attending virtually.
• 2022 HMC Leadership Awards: The 10th Annual HMC Leadership Awards, scheduled for 12:15 p.m., Monday, May 2, will transition to a virtual event. DSA will share Zoom information with those who RSVP. You should receive information soon on how to RSVP for the event.
• Projects and Presentations Days: We will shift Projects and Presentations Days to virtual events. The Dean of Faculty will share additional details once they are available.
• End of Year Luncheon/Service Recognition Awards for Faculty and Staff: We are postponing the End of Year Luncheon and Service Recognition Awards for faculty and staff until later in the summer. Given that many of you may have travel plans over the summer, we will aim to hold the event before the fall semester begins. Once we have a date selected for the event, we will be in touch to save the date on your calendars and share more details, including any COVID-related protocols.

We apologize for the short notice for these changes. However, our focus must be on ensuring our students can successfully complete their semester and that our seniors are able to complete their required coursework so that they may graduate.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any member of the President’s Cabinet.

Thank you,

 The President’s Cabinet

Maria Klawe, President
Karen Angemi, Director of the President’s Office and Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Thyra Briggs, Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid
Andrew Dorantes, Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer
Timothy Hussey, Chief Communications Officer and Assistant Secretary to the Board
Hieu Nguyen, Vice President for Advancement
Lisa Sullivan, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty
Marco Antonio Valenzuela, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Joseph Vaughan, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Computing and Information Services