Task Force on Reopening

The goal of the Task Force and the committees reporting to the Task Force is to explore all of our options in reopening the Hofstra campus for fall. Topics such as public health guidelines, testing and tracing, facilities usage, classroom utilization, human resource and safety, various educational delivery methods, technology, capacity in facilities, social distancing and public protocols, education campaigns, student life, dining and living on campus, athletics and campus recreation and other issues will be raised.

Our work is guided by the plans and protocols set forth in several documents. Ultimately, our decisions will rest upon the public health protocols and guidelines available from federal, state and local authorities, but our planning will allow us to be responsive, responsible, nimble and innovative. We are fortunate that our partner in education, Northwell Health, is assisting us in our efforts.

As new protocols become available, we will post them here.

President's Letter to Families and Students

As we come to the end of the spring semester, having faced the extraordinary challenges this pandemic and its effects brought to us, I am proud of the way our faculty, students and staff have risen to this unprecedented challenge.

You have all dealt with an extraordinary period in history, in a way the Hofstra family may be proud. Even when the situation has not been ideal, you have helped one another and others, outside our community, deal with the situation we are facing with grace and empathy. One of the most difficult things about what we’ve faced is the lack of certainty, the constantly changing deadlines and guidelines, for closing and for reopening, issued by the state and federal governments.

But what we can now do is plan, with equal measures of pragmatism and optimism, for a fall semester on campus. We will work very hard this summer to ensure we have left no stone unturned in trying to bring our community back together, in person, and our planning is well underway. We are very fortunate, and in a better position than many of our peers, because of our strong partnership with Northwell Health, which provides us with unparalleled expertise in public health and prevention planning; and with local, county and state governments, all of with whom Hofstra is working on different pandemic response projects.

Continue reading the President's message

President’s Task Force

President’s Task Force members are:

 One of our main efforts is the coordination of academic needs, and this subcommittee of the task force is chaired by Provost Berliner.

Fall Semester –
Contingencies Planning Committee Task Force

Membership

Total 16 members

Committee on Communication and Education

Resource People:

Depending on the discussion other resource people will be called to participate.

Pat Adamski,
Senior Vice President for Planning and Administration

Richard Apollo
Vice Provost for Budget and Planning

Denise Cunningham
Chief Human Resource Officer

Wendy Hom
Laboratory Director Environmental Health and Safety Officer

Committee on Facilities

The Committee on Facilities, led by Vice President Joe Barkwill, will consider all construction, capacity and facilities issues, including cleaning protocols, PPE distribution, furniture purchase, and work space changes, needed to bring the campus community back.

During May and early June, the Committee on Facilities will be speaking with deans, academic chairs, department directors and other campus leaders to determine what purchasing and construction might be required for various spaces on campus, including cleaning and usage protocols for labs, studios, and other experiential spaces.  Campus academic leaders should prepare for these meetings.

Other members include:
Paul Romano
Director of Physical Plant

Dom Lavin
Director of Campus Facilities

David Dale
Director of Purchasing Contracts

Michael Sweeney
Associate Director, Custodial Services

Other Subcommittees

Other subcommittees include:

• Student Center subcommittee on issues of traffic and usage of Student Center spaces (co-chaired by Dom Lavin and Dean of Students Gabrielle St. Leger)
• Dining subcommittee will consider capacity, openings and food handling procedures (co-chaired by Michael Ogazon, Director of Budget and Administrative Services and a Compass representative)
• Athletics subcommittee will interpret guidance from the NCAA and the Colonial Athletic Association and consider athletic events, game production, team travel, training and facilities protocol.

  Jay Artinian (Chair)
  Deputy Director of Athletics

  Cindy Lewis
  Senior Associate Director of Athletics, SWA

  Stephen Gorchov
  Associate Director of Athletics for Communications

  Evan Malings
  Head Athletic Trainer

  Ryan Watson
  Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities

  Jimmy Prendergast
  Head Strength and Conditioning Coach

  Chrissy Arnone
  Associate Director of Athletics for Marketing and Strategic Partnerships