From the President: Looking Towards Fall 2020

Dear campus community,

It seems almost impossible, but the start of the fall semester is quickly nearing. I know that for many this summer has been unimaginably busy. I want to thank all of you. Thank you to the staff, faculty and administrators who kept our campus functioning all spring and summer. Thank you to the faculty and staff who spent their summers improving remote teaching and working to best serve our students. Thank you to the many involved with planning for Fall 2020, particularly the Budget and Logistics review team who guided our decision-making process and ensured that our plans prioritized health and safety. 

We have focused our planning efforts on remote teaching and services with very few courses being offered in-person, with most services being conducted and provided remotely and with few students in residence. For the few (less than 600 students and even fewer faculty and staff) who will be on campus, we will implement a health and safety plan that includes a daily health screening, the use of face coverings, physical distancing and hand sanitizers and hand washing. 

As with all things related to the global pandemic, our plans will change and perhaps change rapidly, if protecting public health demands it. Please regularly review our Campus Plan website for details about Fall 2020. We continue working to improve our communications knowing that we can always do better. Please send your questions and suggestions to president@sfsu.edu.

Protecting our University community’s health, whether in our homes and neighborhoods or on campus, requires that we all comply with local health requirements, particularly using face coverings and practicing physical distancing. We have all seen photos where people failed to do that … and then read later about the consequences. At San Francisco State University, we pride ourselves on rising above individual needs to embrace the needs of the many and the collective good. I expect no less of us now. So, wherever you are, wear your face covering and give people distance. Demonstrate that we put the welfare of our communities at the center of all we do.

Again, I express my deepest gratitude to all who are making remote learning, teaching and working effective — particularly our students and faculty who are ensuring that we meet our core educational mission during the most challenging of times. 

I guarantee that Fall 2020 will be one for the record books and that San Francisco State will emerge as a model for protecting public health and ensuring that students continue to make progress toward the academic goals that will serve their families, communities and the city and Bay Area well.

With wishes for good health.

Best,

Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President