Dear MECA&D Community,
I hope this note finds you and your family safe and healthy. I am pleased to share that our efforts to create an arts oasis here at MECA&D this semester were successful - we were very fortunate to have avoided any COVID outbreaks on campus. Everyone in the MECA&D community should be commended for their commitment to our health and safety protocols. Our winter break will begin formally at the end of the day on December 18th this year, giving students, faculty, and staff much-needed time with their families for holidays. Please join me in wishing everyone here a safe holiday season.
To assure the most favorable faculty and student experience at MECA&D this spring, we are adjusting the academic calendar for our BFA, MFA, and Salt programs by adding two weeks to our winter break. Administrators and staff will return to work as planned on Monday, January 4th, which will also mark the return of our weekly COVID-19 testing program. Residence halls will open for our returning students on Sunday, January 24th, and all students will be tested along with all faculty and staff on Monday, January 25th. Spring semester classes will begin on Wednesday, January 27th. The MAT program will begin as previously scheduled on January 4th as they are following the K-12 public school calendar.
MECA&D’s extended winter break is designed to help the College to plan for the anticipated post-holiday COVID-19 ripple effect that our infectious disease counsel has warned us will occur. To avoid any possible travel complications, we are also replacing the week-long mid-semester break with a number of wellness days throughout the semester.
Thank you all for your continuing interest in MECA&D and for your generous support this year. On behalf of all of us here at MECA&D, I wish you all a very healthy holiday season.
All the best,
Laura Freid
President