Westminster College Confident That Fall 2020 In-Person Classes Will Take Place

President Fletcher Lamkin, Ph.D., announced last week that Westminster will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely but that students can expect a return to “relative” normal this fall. Lamkin plans for campus to open to alumni as scheduled on Aug. 8 for delayed Commencement 2020, while freshman dormitories will officially open for New Student Days on Aug. 15.

“Although Westminster made a quick, seamless transition to sudden online learning this spring, I am confident that our students can expect to physically be back on our beautiful campus after the summer,” Lamkin stated in a news release to central Missouri media on April 23. “Our COVID-19 Task Force is working diligently to make sure this happens while ensuring the health and safety of everyone at the College.”

In-person classes will officially begin on Aug. 20 following a spring and summer employing Westminster’s Digital Blue Distance Learning Plan. The new course format began on March 23.

Lamkin adds that the College continues to monitor local, federal and state recommendations concerning COVID-19, with tentative plans to open campus — with appropriate, careful modifications — to staff on May 4. The College’s opening coincides with the end of a statewide shelter-at-home mandate. Meanwhile, students, faculty and staff are encouraged to stay up to date on campus news regarding COVID-19 by referring to a page dedicated to the disease on the College website.

“Rest assured that we do not take this disease lightly and are preparing for campus operations to be somewhat different than they were before COVID-19, but we anticipate — with confidence and excitement — a return to a ‘new normal,’” Lamkin reflects.