Dear students, faculty, and staff,
I want to follow up on the message sent by the chancellor yesterday and highlight points that are important to the law school.
The chancellor announced that all classes in the spring 2021 term, which begins January 11 for the law school, will occur entirely remotely for the first few weeks. There will be no exceptions to the remote instruction, including for any law school classes. The decision to start the spring semester remotely was made based on COVID-19 projections nationwide and within our state.
On February 15, the campus intends to return to in-person instruction in accordance with the plans for courses for which students registered. Campus authorities will follow up with us by January 14 to confirm the start date for in-person instruction. Otherwise, the law school calendar for the spring semester, which I announced in November, will remain unchanged.
Also, regretfully, the chancellor and provost have announced that all campus commencement ceremonies this spring, including ours, will be held virtually. This measure is due to the restriction on events and the uncertainty of when we can gather again. I know this comes as a deep disappointment to our 3Ls, and I am genuinely sorry. I will be meeting with 3L class leaders to make sure we have the best commencement possible.
Law students, faculty, and staff will be able to continue to access the law school building using their Buff OneCard. Students may access the building to study or work on a journal.
The law library will reopen to reservations on Monday, January 11. Study spaces outside the library will still be available for reservation, including classrooms and the dedicated study rooms on the third and fourth floors of the law building.
As noted by the chancellor, the campus monitoring testing program remains available for all students, faculty, and staff. Please take advantage of this program, especially if you travel from or back to Boulder.
While I am disappointed to not be on campus together, this is the best way to keep our community safe and healthy as the pandemic is expected to keep us apart well into the new year. I am deeply grateful to all of you for your understanding and patience.
Take note that the chancellor will hold a campus Q&A session at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 15, to address questions and concerns.
Please take good care, and best of luck to our students on your remaining exams.
Your Dean,
S. James Anaya
Dean and University Distinguished Professor