In less than a week, the President of the United States, the Governor of North Carolina, and Gaston County Commissioners have all declared states of emergency regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. At Belmont Abbey College we share their desire and commitment to protect our families and neighbors from this potentially life-threatening virus. North Carolina has restricted social gatherings to 50 people or less and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends limiting those meetings to less than 10 for communities with high-risk individuals. Given these restrictions and their uncertain duration, it is clear we must move class instruction to a remote delivery format effective March 30, 2020.
This decision was the result of much discussion, research, and prayer about how best to continue providing our students with a quality education while protecting all the members of our community from COVID-19. The faculty have been remarkable in their positive attitude and willingness to do whatever it takes to continue providing our students with excellent instruction. To help them in this endeavor, we have put in place the technology and training necessary to ensure that we can remotely deliver the Belmont Abbey College curriculum to our students. Faculty members will contact each of their students prior to the resumption of classes on the 30th in order to ensure a smooth transition to the remote delivery of class instruction.
Beginning Monday, March 30th, Belmont Abbey College will deliver all classes remotely and follow the same schedule that existed prior to Spring Break.
With regard to Student Life, we strongly encourage students to return to their permanent residence for the remainder of the semester. Students with serious reasons prohibiting their return to their home must fill out this form. We will review and decide on these requests regularly. A college representative will email you with the decision after you complete the form. For the very few students unable to return home, we will continue to provide housing and a limited meal plan. For those students approved to stay on campus there will be no social gatherings, a suspension of visitation, and limited on-campus services.
We realize that students’ belongings are still on campus, locked in their rooms. We are working on a process to enable students to safely pick up their belongings while preserving the current social distancing guidelines. Members of Student Life will contact students once the process is established. We are also working to find an equitable process for reimbursing students for the unused portions of their room and board charges. As soon as we have a plan in place, we will share it with students and parents.
For our seniors, we know this is an especially difficult time. You and your families have worked and sacrificed so much. We remain hopeful that commencement can still take place as scheduled on May 16th. Since the CDC’s guidance currently extends to the beginning of May, we will decide closer to that time, and pray that the environment has improved so that we can celebrate as normal. In the interim, our leadership is working on alternative solutions should we need to cancel. The Office of Academic Affairs will advise graduating seniors regarding the decision as soon as possible.
Belmont Abbey College employees should continue to discuss their work situations with their supervisors, understanding that it may be necessary to rotate work schedules and, when needed, work remotely. Employees should check with their supervisors for ongoing guidance.
The Belmont Abbey College community should check their email and Crusader Alerts for further updates.
In a time of uncertainty, such as the one we are living through at the present moment, there is something very reassuring about the Benedictine stability of Belmont Abbey. It helps us to recognize that God is in the here and now and that we do not need to wander from place to place in search of Him. Stability helps us to experience the presence of God in our lives and engenders a deep sense of peace and permanence that can help us persevere through the most trying times. It might be comforting for you to know that Belmont Abbey has successfully weathered the Spanish-American War, World War I, the 1918 World-Wide Flu Epidemic, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, a Presidential Assassination, the Vietnam War, and it will, by the grace of God and our cooperation with it, survive and thrive through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Be at peace, love one another, and keep the Faith.
God Bless,
Dr. William K. Thierfelder
President of Belmont Abbey College