We are excited to welcome you back for your Spring semester! We continue to operate in a character-building environment because of the pandemic, but we also continue to be so proud of each and every one of you for your perseverance, resiliency and passion in your journey to transform health and improve lives.

The prevalence and spread of the omicron variant requires us to adapt and adjust as we have so often so that we can move into our new semester together and in-person. We trust that you have read President Johnson’s message from January 4 concerning testing, booster shot advisement, masking, distancing and recommendations about in-person gatherings. One of the items in the president’s message spoke to campus dining halls operating at 40% seating capacity to allow for physical distancing.

In that spirit, we at the College of Nursing are removing some furniture from the Newton Hall lobby and opening up classrooms and conference rooms in which you can eat and study. As hard as this can be, we are urging you for now to not eat together and help to maintain physical distancing in our common areas. We have created this webpage so that you can see the general availability of each room on a given day for you to eat/study.

We know the circumstances are not ideal, and we recognize the stress that the current situation with omicron is creating for so many people, especially our front-line nurses and other clinicians. You know how invested we are in wellness for everyone in our wonderful college, and there are several resources for you to use, from our Buckeye Wellness programming to our counseling services and so much more. However, please also make sure you are taking a little time every day to prioritize good self-care through deep breathing, physical activity, self-affirmation, gratitude or however you choose to de-stress and rejuvenate. You cannot pour from an empty cup, so make sure you are finding ways to fill your cup with something that brings you joy and fulfillment.

Thank you for your understanding and flexibility as we work to promote a safe and healthy return to campus.

Keep dreaming, discovering and delivering and, as always, Go Buckeyes!

Warm and well regards,
Dean Bern and Vice Dean Margaret