Students take graduation photos on a mostly empty Ball State campus Friday, May 1, 2020. (Photo: Jordan Kartholl / The Star Press)
MUNCIE, Ind. — It's not an easy question: Will Ball State University re-open its currently deserted campus in the fall?
But President Geoffrey S. Mearns provided the best available answer during a briefing of the board of trustees on Friday that lasted more than an hour.
After noting that the deadly new coronavirus disease has created unprecedented uncertainty, Mearns, an attorney, told trustees via teleconference: "Throughout all of these different contingency planning groups it is the overarching and paramount objective to prepare and plan to resume appropriate academic and campus operations for the fall semester, but to do so in the context of the ongoing challenges and guidelines presented by the continuing coronavirus concerns and the risks attendant with that pandemic."
In a telephone interview after the meeting, The Star Press asked Ball State spokesperson Kathy Wolf if she could simplify that answer.
"The bottom line is we can't be misleading," she said. "We can't say everything will be fully back the same this fall. We are planning and preparing to be back on campus with the appropriate modifications recommended by these two groups."
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