Keel: AU will return to normal operations in Fall '21

By Chris Rickerson | Staff writer

Augusta University President Dr. Brooks A. Keel, in a virtual town hall on Tuesday, June 1, said vaccinated students, faculty, staff and administrators would no longer have to wear masks if they had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The COVID-19 cases are declining,” Dr. Keel said. “They are continuing to stay at low levels, and we are really excited about what that means for us going forward.”

Due to the number of cases decreasing dramatically, there has been some changes to the COVID-19 guidelines for AU and campuses all across Georgia. 

“Fully vaccinated individuals on campus can resume normal campus classes and other activities without wearing a mask,” said Dr. Keel. “Unvaccinated individuals are now strongly encouraged to continue to wear a face covering while inside of campus facilities.”

Changes were also announced for socially distancing at AU campuses. Fully vaccinated students and faculty are able to return to classes without social-distance guidelines. Unvaccinated individuals are strongly recommended to continue to follow the social distancing guidelines. 

Dr. Keel also announced the return of AU hosted events for as soon as this summer. 

“We are beginning to consider those and to do things we haven’t been able to do in the last 18 months,” said Dr. Keel. “Right now, we’re beginning to plan events for summer, fall and even going into the spring semester of next year.”

Keel said that he preferred meetings in he university’s various units return to face-to-face mode. However, he said in some cases meetings could be done more efficiently on Microsoft Teams and thus he would leave that up to unit managers. He also said university travel remains suspended for the time being.

Summer classes have already started at AU with most of them online, but Keel says Fall 2021 will see AU returning to normal. 

“We want to be summer 2021 flexible,” he said. “In fall 2021 we are back to pre-COVID-19 normal, and I can’t wait to be back.”

He said he looked forward to seeing a full complement of students and faculty back on AU’s two main campuses in August.

It was also announced that that the College of Science and Mathematics building downtown will be ready for the 2021 fall semester.  

“Our faculty and staff should start moving in the next couple weeks and that building will be ready for the fall semester,” said Dr. Keel. 

The AU president said he is committed to increasing the university’s level of online instruction and touted the new billboards around the state and in South Carolina that promote AU’s mission.

Lastly, he thanked everyone, including faculty, staff and healthcare providers, for their work in this past year during the pandemic.

Contact Christopher Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.