As we look forward to a return to campus this fall, I hope all of you take full advantage of this summer to rest and relax. I can't say enough how grateful I am to work with the dedicated group of faculty and staff we have in CLAS. The Dean's Award winners for 2020-2021 deserve extra recognition, and I hope you will join me in congratulating all of them!
Because of your ingenuity and adaptability, CU Denver and our students were able to thrive during these unprecedented challenges. As a result many “positive disruptions” were discovered, and we hope to keep these improvement to the way we do business going in the future. Whether efficiency in how we approach our work, a shift in practice, or a new way to engage our campus community, the LynxTogether taskforce is asking everyone to provide input that will shape our transition back to campus by capturing our lessons learned over the past year. Contributions will be organized and shared out to support the campus, and I look forward to finding new ways to serve our students as a result of these updates.
Our future is looking bright, but we need to keep emphasizing to our students and community the importance of getting vaccinated. The 5th Street Garage COVID Vaccination Clinic is now operating on a walk-up basis, no appointment required. Also, the mass vaccination site at Ball Arena offers Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines weekdays from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm, and over the weekend from 9:00 - 4:00 pm. Now is the time for all of our community to prepare for success this fall by coming together and supporting the public health of Colorado with our individual actions and decisions.
Many have asked what CU Denver is doing to increase access to vaccine among underserved populations. We hosted an equity clinic on May 15 and 16. We are targeting specific zip codes for messaging about the Auraria vaccination clinic at the 5th street garage. We also are partnering with 9Health: 365. If you want to help, volunteer information can be found at this website.
Over the summer we will have an updated series on the impacts of COVID, a much anticipated sequel to our very successful COVID-19 in Colorado and Beyond series from last summer. COVID Conversations will focus on our current COVID reality and on moving forward into the next new normal:
Conversations about COVID: Where are We Now and Where Are We Going?
Week 1, July 7, 4:30 pm: Jon Samet – The COVID-19 Pandemic in 2021: Lessons learned and challenges ahead
Week 2, July 14, 4:00 pm: Laurel Hartley – Origins and evolution of SARS CoV2: What have we learned? Why does it matter?
Week 3, July 21, 4:00 pm: Jennifer Reich – Vaccines and Vaccination Politics
Week 4, July 28, 4:00 pm: Kristin Kilbourn – Transitioning out of COVID: What Do We Know about the State of our Mental Health?
Look for registration information in emails to come, and I hope all of you are already enjoying a restful and rejuvenating summer.
