Dear Bereans,
This is the campus update for Monday, September 13, 2021.
Quarantine, testing and vaccination update
As of today, we have just one on-campus student remaining in isolation because of a positive test, and that quarantine is scheduled to end tomorrow.
As to on-campus employees, we have one Gen Ed faculty member who has tested positive and will be quarantining throughout this week. We also have two staff members (Lincoln Hall and Stephenson Hall) and who have tested positive and are quarantining. We also still have one employee in Grounds who is a close contact quarantine. In addition to on-campus employees, we have three PFE employees who have tested positive and are quarantining.
Although there have been some positive tests with a nexus to the extended CDL community, there were no mandated close contact quarantines among staff. Unfortunately, however, we have a new development as of this afternoon… A positive case for one employee (among those above) has resulted in some CDL children in that family testing positive. We are working with the Health Department to determine the appropriate response and CDL community will be receiving updates as soon as possible.
Our overall employee vaccination percentage has increased by 1% to 88%, and for non-PFE employees, our percentage rounds to 90%. Let’s keep going; we can do even better. The Delta surge may or may not be plateauing, but there are still a LOT of new cases every week in Madison County and in Kentucky
Regular surveillance testing begins this week.
From a Berea student
A Berea student who recently lost a relative to COVID-19 wrote a reflection that she asked me to share. You will find it below my signature.
GREAT NEWS for students from the Student Financial Aid Office
Students new to the campus and students returning after having been out for at least one term will receive funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP, or HEERF III) early next week. As stated in the ARP legislation, students are to use these funds for Cost of Attendance items, such as housing, meals, childcare, etc. These are grant funds and do not have to be repaid, nor do students have to provide receipts of expenditures. All students are eligible for these funds, including international and DACA students. (Continuing students received this money prior to the beginning of fall term.
The chart below outlines the amounts each student will receive based on need as determined by 2021-22 Expected Family Contribution (EFC):
| EFC | Disbursement Amount |
| $0 | $600 |
| $1 – 2999 | $575 |
| $3000 – 5830 | $550 |
| $5831 – 9999 | $500 |
| $10,000 and above | $400 |
We hope the timing of these funds will assist students with their fall costs. If you have any questions, please contact Student Financial Aid counselors at finaid@berea.edu
Kentucky and Madison County update
The Madison County Health Department reported a total of 511 new cases for the six days ending yesterday. The average of new cases per day has decreased to 85, a decrease of 7% over last week’s number. We are still in the Red Zone, now at about 94 cases per day per 100,000 persons, but we may be headed downward from a plateau locally. Much will depend on whether group activities from Labor Day and as the fall sports season has gotten underway drive more cases. The department also reports that at this point, 46.9% of county residents have been fully vaccinated, just a marginal increase from last week. Unfortunately, the total number of deaths in the county attributable to COVID-19 as reported by the State has again increased, this week by five, and now stands at 124. (In terms of deaths, I think this is our worst week ever in the pandemic.)
Kentucky reported 24,831 new cases for the 6 days ending today for an average of 4139 cases/day, virtually unchanged from last week’s number. The Commonwealth has reported 166 deaths over the last six days for an average number of deaths/day of 28. This is pretty stable from two weeks ago, but still very high. The latest test positivity rate is 13.70%, pretty much unchanged from last week. The Kentucky data overall looks to me like we are at or are approaching a plateau, with the same cautions as noted above for the Madison County numbers.
Vaccination policy at other colleges and universities
As of this morning, the Chronicle of Higher Education lists 1,023 schools that will require vaccination in the fall, an increase of just 9 schools over last week.
Most colleges are now in session, so I would expect this number not to increase much further.
A significant milestone
Dr. Rob Smith, Professor of Psychology and Director of Academic Assessment, takes the lead on each of Berea College’s accreditation submissions to SACSCOC. (To students: this process is how a college establishes and keeps in force its credentials as an institution of higher education.) Dr. Smith reported to me the completion and submission of our Fifth Year Interim Report last week. It is no exaggeration to say that this is a gargantuan amount of work and Dr. Smith deserves our hearty thanks. Also contributing extensively to this effort were:
Provost Dr. Scott Steele,
Dean of Faculty Dr. Matt Saderholm,
Associate Provosts Dr. Steve Gowler (20-21) and Dr. Eileen McKiernan Gonzalez (21-22)
From the Academic Division staff:
Susan Vaughn
Sam Cole
Vice President for Operations and Sustainability Derrick Singleton
Associate Vice President for Admissions Luke Hodson
From the Office of Institution Research and Assessment:
Clara Chapman
Judith Weckman
Dr. Stephanie Woodie of Health and Human Performance
From the Office of Student Life
Stephen Howard
Dr. Smith says, “I feel pretty good about what we had to say on all the standards. Hopefully, reviewers agree…”. Fingers crossed!
Stay safe, get vaccinated, stay in touch,
Lyle Roelofs, President
Berea College
Letter to campus from a Berea student who asked me to share it with the campus community…
Late Friday night, my cousin passed away. He had tested positive for COVID in July and had been hospitalized for over a month and a half. He was sick with COVID pneumonia, which left his lungs badly damaged. Due to this damage, they preformed a tracheotomy because he would never be able to survive without a ventilator. While he was in the hospital, he picked up a deadly pneumonia which left his lungs permanently and severely damaged. The vent was doing 80%+ of the work of his lungs. Last night, due to COVID, he passed away.
He left behind a wife and two stepchildren who loved him more than life itself. He was in his 40s and healthy. He was the only one in his immediate family that was unvaccinated, and the only one who tested positive for COVID.
I share this, not to scare you, but to remind you all that every COVID case scars a family. Every COVID death leaves behind spouses, parents, and children. I share this to remind you that COVID deaths are not just numbers, they are families, they are people. There are over 650,000 stories just like this one, in the US alone. His wife asks that everyone wear their masks, get vaccinated, and stay home when sick. I ask that you remember that mask when off campus, that you encourage family and friends to get vaccinated, and that you take a moment to remember that each and every COVID case, every COVID death, that you remember their humanity, that they had a favorite food and a family and that their life will be severely missed. I ask that you remember that even when someone survives COVID, they can still be permanently disabled.
Remember my family and remember our pain. Remember it the next time you go to leave your mask in the car, the next time you have the choice to attend a large gathering, the next time you make a decision about something that could potentially infect someone with COVID. Remember my story, and remember that there are over 650,000 Americans who have loved ones that share this pain.