SUNY Submitted, Hartwick Awaits Green Light

SUNY, Hartwick Prep

Plans For Fall Reopening

By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

ONEONTA – Hartwick College has every intention of reopening for the Fall 2020 semester.

“In March, we created a strategic task force, and we’ve been meeting weekly to take a pro-active approach to welcome our students back to campus this fall,” said Paula Lee Hobson, VP for advancement, Hartwick College. “Our enrollment is strong, and our students want to get out of their parents’ houses and back to campus.”

A plan has been drafted, she said, but the task force has yet to receive guidance from the state on where to send it for approval, she said.

At SUNY Oneonta, Kim MacLeod, Associate Director of Communications, confirmed that a plan to reopen the campus in the fall has been sent to SUNY and the state’s Regional Control Room, but couldn’t elaborate on the details of the plan.

“Putting together the plan was a long process involving everyone on campus,” she said. “We worked on seven scenarios, but we only put forth one.”

Students were also surveyed. “We wanted everyone’s voice,” she said. “Students said that distance learning was popular.”

If SUNY and the Regional Control Room approve their plan, it will be sent onto the state for final approval.

“We’re trying to do our best to navigate SUNY and state waters,” she said. “Student safety is our top priority, but we’re trying to balance that with their desire to learn. It’s a very difficult process.”