July 1, 2020

Dear UM family, 

I write today with an important clarification regarding our planning efforts for the fall. As you know, we recently released a first draft of our UM Healthy Fall 2020 Plan. Our plan and the policy language around issues like the wearing of masks are not yet finalized. We are in a listening and review period right now, and we’re in the process of gathering important feedback to ensure that our plans and procedures are as effective as possible in protecting the health and safety of our UM family as we return to in-person instruction. Many of you have participated in this feedback process, which I greatly appreciate. We are gaining important insights through this process, and based on the feedback we receive, we will release an updated version of the plan in mid-July. We also recognize that parts of this plan will have to be continually adjusted as the situation evolves and we learn more.

There has been — rightfully so — a great deal of discussion around the issue of masks and face coverings. I want to be very clear: Our expectation is that everyone in our campus buildings — except when alone in an individual office — wear a mask. That includes students, staff, faculty and visitors. The data and science on this topic are clear: Masks significantly mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and we want to ensure the broadest possible use of masks. It is a small personal sacrifice for an individual to wear a mask but an important step to protect our community.

Our goal as we develop policy language around masks is to ensure the broadest possible use of masks on our campus. As city and county health officials here in Missoula and across the country have noted, there are significant questions around the ability to effectively enforce such a requirement and how we would handle instances where an individual refused to comply. For these reasons, we are currently reviewing these issues and are in discussions with local and state officials on appropriate enforcement mechanisms and the best language that we should use in our plan. Again, our goal is to ensure the widest possible use of masks on our campus.

This is a fluid and changing situation, but I want you to know that we at UM — and across the Montana University System — take this situation very seriously, and we’re doing all that we can to ensure the health and safety of our UM family while working to enable our students to continue to learn, our faculty to teach and our staff to serve through this global pandemic. Our process of planning for the fall has been collaborative and productive, incorporating the expertise and perspective of our faculty, staff and students. Thank you for your participation in this process, and we look forward to continued collaboration and input as we move UM forward.

Again, thank you for your partnership as we navigate these challenges — together.

Seth