McKinely Avenue running through the Ball State University campus (Photo: Jordan Kartholl / The Star Press)
MUNCIE — Add Ball State University to the list of institutions around the country that, while grappling with the situation COVID-19 has created, are set to have students on campus in the fall.
The University of Notre Dame announced a plan May 18 to do so. Purdue University approved a plan Tuesday to do so. Indiana University on Wednesday announced a plan to do so. Now, so has Ball State.
In a meeting Wednesday, Ball State’s Board of Trustees approved a plan that would have on-campus instruction resume Aug. 24 and go online after Thanksgiving — similar to the plans of Purdue and IU. And the Ball State trustees did so after learning of a number of health and safety protocols that would be put in place, or at least recommended, to ensure the well-being of those on campus is prioritized.
“As I think about this, and I spend a lot of time thinking about this, the success of this is all the hard work that’s been put together here, but also the responsibility of the individual to make sure that they do their part to comply and be responsible for their role in making sure that everybody stays safe,” said Renae Conley, the chair of the BSU Board of Trustees, prior to the vote for approval. “So, I mean, as a culture of a university and our beneficence I think that fits well with how we believe that we want to behave and who we want to be. And I just can’t stress enough that thinking of the bigger good and not thinking of yourself — all of us and our students, faculty, staff — is a critical part to our success as we move toward the fall.”
Added BSU President Geoffrey S. Mearns: “Returning to campus, for us to plan for that and to then be able to do it safely, we will be fortunate to be able to do that. But our good fortune will rely on the collective efforts of every person to abide by these protocols so that we don’t squander this opportunity.”
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