Campus Update August 12, 2021

Sent on behalf of McLennan President, Dr. Johnette McKown

Dear Employees & Students,

We are only seven days away from the start of the Fall semester, and as we prepare, we continue to monitor the ever-changing COVID-19 situation.  With the current increase in COVID-19 cases due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant, we continue to be committed to the health and safety of everyone that visits the McLennan Community College campus.  As needed, we will modify plans to fit the current situation and will share these changes as they are finalized.

The first change is the commencement ceremony on August 17.  Holding a commencement ceremony to honor the accomplishments of our students is very important to all of us, but we need to address health and safety concerns due to the current COVID-19 conditions.  To keep the ceremony as close as possible to what was initially announced, we are making the following changes:

  • Chairs will be spaced 2 feet apart.
  • Face masks are strongly recommended.
  • Graduates will have 4 tickets for guests. Graduates and Faculty/Staff will not participate in a processional or recessional; they will go directly to a designated seat.
  • Diplomas will be placed in the graduates’ seats before the graduates arrive.  Graduates will bring their diplomas to the stage, will be congratulated, and have a picture taken. 
  • Graduates will not shake hands with the platform party.

The College will provide a live stream of the commencement ceremony for others to view the event online.  This live stream will also become a video that can be watched later. A link to the livestream will appear on https://www.mclennan.edu/records/Commencement/index.html next week.

We hope you have seen information about the upcoming COVID-19 vaccination clinic that we will host on campus from 9:00 am-3:00 pm on August 25 in the MAC Commons.  During the pandemic, the Leadership Team has followed the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as well as local and state health officials and continues to do so with our belief that encouraging vaccinations is a critical part of our path forward to beat COVID-19.  We strongly encourage all students to be vaccinated.  To encourage our unvaccinated students, we will offer a $200 incentive to students who participate in our campus vaccination clinic.  This will be funded with the Federal COVID relief funds provided through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF).  We are not allowed to provide the incentive to students already vaccinated.  Information about the vaccination clinic can be found at https://www.mclennan.edu/crisis-management/coronavirus-updates/vaccine-clinic.html

The College is currently working through the details with the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District to host COVID-19 testing on campus.  The testing will take place in the Community Services Center Parking Lot M and will be a self-administered nasal swab PCR test.  We are happy to bring this option back to the community.

As we are continuing to monitor very closely the impacts of the current increase in COVID cases, we are evaluating options on how best to deliver instruction and other services while ensuring safe practices.  We care about our students and employees and will continue to adapt as new information becomes available and as we are permitted to implement new practices.  Thanks to the last year and half, we have many tools at our disposal. 

The College has many resources available on the COVID-19 webpage located at https://www.mclennan.edu/crisis-management/coronavirus-updates/index.html.  It is important to monitor your health and not come to campus if you have any COVID-19 symptoms.  We ask that you self-report at https://mclennan.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9FiKfG5D85livQN, so we can do the appropriate contact tracing. 

I encourage you to continue to be safe and to make the best decisions for you, your family, and your friends.  Vaccinations and wearing masks are safe and effective and help to keep us all safe.  I am wearing a mask when around others and have been vaccinated.  Let’s do this together.  We can.

 

Johnette E. McKown
President 

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