August 27, 2020
Dear colleagues and students,
We have almost reached the end of our first week of classes, and this year, that is cause for celebration.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our goal has been to promote the health and safety of our campus communities. To this end, we have developed a comprehensive testing and contact tracing program. That program includes pre-arrival and on-arrival testing, which we have been conducting since students started moving in to on-campus housing at IUPUI in early August. It also includes testing large numbers of faculty, staff, and students on a weekly basis to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We started this mitigation testing earlier this week, focusing on students living in on-campus housing at IUPUI.
Next week and in the weeks thereafter as part of this ongoing effort, mitigation testing will be expanded to include faculty, staff, and students, including those living off campus.
In order for our medical experts to assess the viral spread and identify hot spots, this testing will include up to 4,000 people per week at IUPUI, 140 people per week at IUPUC, and 60 people at IU Fort Wayne. If you are selected for testing in a given week, you will receive notification via email that asks you to schedule a COVID-19 test. Please promptly comply with this request. You can find more information about testing and screening on campus, including the criteria for exemptions, on the Fall 2020 website.
Read more about screening and testing
I know that this is a challenging time and that you are juggling many responsibilities. This makes me appreciate even more all that you are doing to promote the safety and health of our community.
Sincerely,
Nasser H. Paydar
Chancellor