Thank you for helping us continue our mission

MICHAEL K. YOUNG
President

August 19, 2020

Dear Faculty and Staff:

Our decision in March to move online seems like a distant memory. Since that time, I know many of you have spent countless hours helping us plan and prepare to bring students back to campus for the fall.

As we begin a new semester, I hope you and your loved ones are well. I also want to express my gratitude to you for your extraordinary commitment to continuing our mission of education and research, and to helping us do so as safely as possible.

While it’s impossible for any institution to completely stop the spread of a global pandemic, I am very grateful to the many faculty and staff who have helped us prepare by sharing their innovative ideas and engaging in selfless service.

In recent months, we’ve made a major investment to enhance the way we clean and disinfect areas across campus. We implemented a mandatory face covering policy on June 15, and will continue this practice throughout the fall. In our classrooms, academic areas and residence halls, we have reconfigured the layout of spaces to accommodate physical distancing. And in the time-honored tradition of our Yell Leaders who signal for our students to “Pass it Back,” we have created a campaign encouraging students to embody our core values with a new tradition to help protect everyone from COVID-19 called “Don’t Pass it Back.”

As the president of Texas A&M, I want you to know that I feel a tremendous responsibility to promote the well-being of all of our students, faculty, staff and visitors. All of the practices we are employing are based on recommendations from leading health experts, and I believe they give us the best options for continuing our mission and keeping our entire university community safe and healthy. If you have symptoms, or if you have been around people who have tested positive for COVID-19, please get tested. We are offering free testing for faculty and staff through Student Health Services.

In the coming weeks, COVID-19 will continue to present challenges, but I also believe it will offer us new opportunities. Opportunities to reimagine how we work, how we teach and how we fulfill our important land-grant mission.

This fall, as we face this moment together, your support and service are more important than ever before. Your daily dedication matters greatly to our students, our families and every member of the extended Aggie community. And I’m deeply appreciative of all of your contributions.

Thank you for everything you do for Texas A&M, and for helping us make this another successful fall semester.

Sincerely,

Michael K. Young
President