Five weeks into the fall 2021 semester, the SUNY Oswego community has much to be proud of and I commend all of you for your efforts and commitment to keeping Oswego safe and strong.  

It is clear our beautiful lakeside campus is alive in a more traditional way with in-person learning and a full complement of activities including artistic, intellectual and entertainment offerings. As you stay steadfast in following safety guidelines, complying with state mandates and caring about yourselves and others, the campus can stay safe and open, and continue to support a truly vibrant campus environment.  

High Vaccination Rate on Campus

Oswego can continue to provide a robust experience for our students, faculty and staff in large part because of our commitment to testing and an increasing vaccination rate throughout the campus community. As of today, 90 percent of our on-campus students are in compliance with the vaccine mandate. An additional 8 percent of students are in the process of completing their full vaccine series. This means that we expect that at least 98 percent of our students (coming to campus for any reason) will be in compliance with the Sept. 27 mandate requirement. Congratulations Lakers!  

In addition, 95 percent of management confidential employees are fully vaccinated (ahead of the October 12 deadline I put in place earlier this month). We continue to encourage all employees to get vaccinated as our campus strives toward a robust vaccination rate.

Continued Masking

As I referenced in my August 5 email to the campus community, “masks are required for all students and employees, both vaccinated and unvaccinated in all indoor spaces, settings and events, including the classroom.” I shared that we would reassess the mask requirement in late September and make any modifications based on vaccination rates and the state of the virus on our campus and in surrounding communities.  

At this time and after careful consideration of the positivity rate in the wider Oswego and Central New York communities, and in concert with CDC guidance, I am extending our campus mask requirement (in all indoor settings regardless of vaccination status) until further notice. We must continue to take the necessary precautions to keep each other safe. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Celebrating ALANA and Founder’s Weekend

I look forward to seeing many of you at several of the in-person, on-campus events over the next week, including ALANA’s 11th annual Unity Peace Walk on Sunday (Sept. 26 at 2 pm) and our Oswego Reading Initiative (ORI) speaker, Claudia D. Hernández on Monday (Sept. 27 at 7 pm).  

As we approach the end of next week, the campus will proudly kick off events that are part of Founder’s Weekend and allow us to celebrate 160 Years of Higher Learning at SUNY Oswego. Please consider joining us at one or more of the following events:

• School of Business Symposium – Thursday, Sept. 30 at 3 pm
• Launch It: Student Entrepreneur Competition – Thursday, Sept. 30 at 5 pm
• Green and Gold Day Campus Photo – Friday, Oct. 1 at 1:30 pm
• Hewitt Hall Groundbreaking – Friday, Oct. 1 at 2:15 pm
• Intercollegiate Athletic competitions

For more information, visit the Founder's Weekend website.

With Laker Pride,

Deborah F. Stanley
President