USask Winter Term update: Welcome back to campus

Today we begin our return to increased levels of in-person campus activity. Although we are not finished with the pandemic yet, nor it with us, I am confident that we can, safely and wisely, make the transition back to being together again. I thank all who have helped get us to this new place of hope and promise. 

Thanks to our students for your patience during the last several weeks of remote program delivery that helped ensure the health and safety of all.

Thanks to our faculty for maintaining a high standard of instruction and research over the last few weeks of remote activity, and indeed over the last two years of disruption and change. 

Thanks to our many staff who have switched to working from home for long periods of time. And thanks to the many people who have continued to provide services, in-person and virtual, throughout the pandemic including those who have ensured the campus has remained in excellent shape for all of us who are returning to it.

Thanks to our many health-care workers without whom the province would not have received the expert care essential to our ability to begin returning today.

Thanks to the many USask health experts who have weighed in publicly on the need for informed decision-making and the forms it must take.

Thanks to all those in USask leadership positions responsible for our collective well-being during a pandemic that is not over yet.

And I am proud that, due to the collective efforts of everyone, the University of Saskatchewan continues to be the beacon of hope for the aspirations of so many.

We are able to increase our level of in-person activity on campus in part because of the extremely high vaccination rates in our campus community. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of receiving a booster if you are eligible. Boosters are available on campus for all faculty, staff and students at the Student Wellness Centre. Getting a booster is proven to vastly decrease community infection rates and individual Covid-related health risks, as well as contribute to a sustainable health-care system. Doing so helps us all — that’s what a community is about.

As we return to campus, I ask that everyone observe the protocols and guidelines that are in place to help ensure everyone’s health and well-being. 

Peter Stoicheff
President and Vice-chancellor
University of Saskatchewan