Welcome to a Promising New Year

January 10, 2022

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Happy New Year!

I am delighted to welcome all of you to an exciting new semester and a promising new year here at Purdue Fort Wayne.

If you’re a student continuing your academic studies, welcome back! We look forward to helping you take another step closer toward your Purdue degree. For those of you joining us for the first time, welcome. We’re glad you’re here and will do everything possible to demonstrate that you’ve made an excellent choice by choosing to pursue your studies at this incredible university.

To our faculty and staff, I hope you had a restful and relaxing winter break. The past couple of years have been challenging, for sure, and I’m continually impressed with your passion and determination in providing an outstanding academic and campus experience for our students. Thank you for all you do to create an inclusive environment where our students can learn, live, thrive, and dream.

As we begin this new semester and this new year amid a constantly evolving pandemic, I want each of you to know that your health, safety, and well-being are our top priority. This pandemic has been cruel, disruptive, and exhausting. There isn’t anyone among us who hasn’t been affected directly by COVID-19, but no one should feel like they’re in this alone. If you’re having trouble or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’re here for you. The university has a wide range of resources available for all members of our university community.

One thing we all share is a responsibility to help keep each other safe. Central to our efforts to help curb the spread of COVID-19 has been our ongoing commitment to maintaining a mandatory mask protocol. This—along with getting vaccinated—is the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and others, and I am convinced that our low positivity and quarantine numbers are a reflection of our strict adherence to wearing masks inside university buildings.

Do you need new or better masks? Students may pick up free N95 face masks by showing their student ID at Rhinehart Music Center’s Schatzlein Box Office or the Student Housing Clubhouse. Faculty and staff may pick up free N95 face masks and take-home COVID-19 rapid test kits (two kits per person, two tests per kit) at the Schatzlein Box Office, as well. Box office hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Throughout the semester, additional health and safety information will be available through our internal campus newsletters—Inside PFW (faculty and staff) and Don Life (students)—as well as via social media and through messages from me. The PFW Ready website also includes a variety of resources and current information regarding the university’s operations and protocols, including updated guidance on when it is safe to return to campus if you test positive for COVID-19 or have to self-quarantine due to an exposure.

I look forward to working with all of you to make this a productive and rewarding spring semester. Let’s continue to support and encourage one another as we face whatever challenges may come our way.

Sincerely,

Ron Elsenbaumer
Chancellor