This message was sent on July 1, 2021, to all students, faculty, and staff by CSUMB President Eduardo M. Ochoa

Across the country, around California, and here in Monterey County, the outlook for pandemic recovery is good. Active cases are down, and vaccination rates are up – the recipe for quickly bringing us back to campus. If you are already vaccinated, thank you for helping our community speed the process of defeating the pandemic. If you are medically eligible for the vaccine, be assured it is safe and effective. Vaccination sites are widely available; get vaccinated today, and be ready to return to campus this fall.

These welcome developments allow us to return to our campus and to have our students engage in the rich interactions with each other, our faculty, and our staff, a hallmark of a residential college experience. Face-to-face interactions, hallway conversations, group banter in the dining commons or residence halls, and the innumerable serendipitous exchanges are irreplaceable and essential to the transformational nature of a college education. I can’t wait to see all of you again in that setting.

Soon, we will send an invitation to begin the voluntary phase of the Otter Vaccination Registry. Once open to your group, you can submit proof of vaccination or a medical or religious exemption. Early voluntary submission of this information will help inform our safety practices and will allow us to benefit from a vaccinated population before a requirement is in effect.

The university has processes ready for people to meet safely inside buildings. Until we have sufficient data in the Otter Vaccination Registry, this will include masks and social distancing in some situations. Soon, these requirements will diminish. Members of the university community, both vaccinated and not, may continue to wear a face-covering after mandates are gone based on comfort and situation. Wearing a mask, or not, does not signal vaccination status. Discrimination, harassment, or retaliation against a person because they are wearing a face covering, or not, is incompatible with our values and unacceptable at an institution that values inclusion.

As we return to campus, our goal is for everyone to feel welcome and safe. Initially, the steps that make each of us feel comfortable will vary by individual. Over time, people will become accustomed to gathering in groups in public spaces. CSUMB has a legacy of helping and supporting each other through change. Now is the time to embrace the process and prepare to join together again on campus. I am optimistic about how much we will accomplish as we rekindle our vibrant community.