Letter from the Dean

Dear Humanities Students,

I want to welcome you to what promises to be another eventful year for our College. Some of you are just arriving on our campus, others coming back after an extended absence. We had all hoped that our return to in-person classes would be less complicated than it has turned out to be; still we feel that this can be a fruitful semester for all of us.

To make the most of this year, we encourage all of you to join the College of Humanities faculty and staff in getting fully vaccinated and appropriately tested for COVID. The University has made it extremely easy for you to get shots and tests on campus this semester. The latest advice from the CDC is that even vaccinated persons should wear masks, particularly in crowded indoor spaces (which unfortunately, describes the typical classroom situation). We aren’t in a position to require students to wear masks, but we strongly encourage masking. We recognize that often masks make the work of teaching and learning more difficult, whether we are engaged in language instruction or leading discussions, but it’s our hope that, by working together to control the spread of COVID, we can soon enjoy a safer, healthier and more complete campus life.

Sincerely,

Stuart K. Culver
Dean, College of Humanities
University of Utah