May 6, 2022

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

Below, we offer three things you should know today:

New COVID-19 cases

Since our last report, we have identified 27 new COVID-19 cases among Reed community members who were on campus in the previous 14 days. All cases have been contacted by the HCC or HR, as appropriate. If you test positive, develop symptoms, or believe you may have been exposed, please reach out to the HCC (students) or HR (employees) for support and further guidance.

Commencement 2022

In light of the recent surge on campus and to promote a safe commencement environment, we strongly encourage all students, faculty, and staff to attend surveillance testing next week prior to attending. All participants and on-campus visitors (including children 5+) must be prepared to provide proof of vaccination or a negative result from a COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours to attend. For more information, please visit the Commencement 2022 webpage.

Surveillance testing

COVID-19 surveillance testing will be available next week Monday through Friday (May 9-13) from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM in Greenwood. Reed community members may also participate in testing using one of the two satellite testing sites on campus, available in the Student Union and the Biology building. Tests are picked up from the satellite sites by 1PM and shipped from Greenwood at 3PM; please be sure to drop your test off before these cutoff times in order to be included in next day results.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group at coronavirusquestions@reed.edu.

In health,

Madison Riethman
Reporting on behalf of the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group

Gary Granger, Director of Community Safety
Mandy Heaton, Executive Director of Communications & Public Affairs
Karnell McConnell-Black, Vice President for Student Life
Kathy Oleson, Dean of the Faculty & Professor of Psychology
Tawana Parks, Dean of Students
Hugh Porter, Vice President for College Relations & Planning
Madison Riethman, COVID-19 Response Coordinator & Health Project Manager
Suzy Renn, Professor of Biology
Timmie Rochon, Medical Services Director
April Sams, Director of Risk Management & Environmental Health and Safety
Lynn Valenter, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer

PS: Our COVID-19 dashboard includes current information on the total number of cases, vaccination rate, and other public health indicators. Additionally, all our COVID-19 communications are cataloged here.