Larry Sampler
Dear Roadrunners,
Maymester has begun, and as we dive into summer, here are a few Administrative Branch updates to help ensure we stay connected.
Covid is creeping up — get your second booster when eligible
Covid-19 rates continue to creep up in Colorado. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has moved three Colorado counties into the high-risk level for community transmission: Boulder, Jackson and Broomfield. Counties move to the CDC’s high-risk level when they have a seven-day average of 200 or more new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people and more than 10 new Covid hospital admissions per 100,000 people.
Denver is at the medium-risk level. Though Denver has a seven-day average of 236 new cases per 100,000 people, its rate of new Covid hospitalizations is 7.6 per 100,000, below the 10-per-100,000 threshold. Keep an eye out for the updated numbers, which will be reported today.
With the recent rise, please:
- Stay up to date with Covid-19 vaccines.
- When eligible, get your second booster for free at the Health Center at Auraria. Eligibility includes those who are 50 and over or are immunosuppressed with at least four months having passed since their last booster.
- Stay home and get tested if you have symptoms.
- Consider wearing a mask indoors in public.
The Academic Space Improvement Project that will upgrade audio/video, furniture and more has begun
Our Academic Space Improvement Project that will upgrade classroom spaces is underway. The project is scheduled to take place over the 12-week summer period and includes exciting upgrades to audiovisual equipment, new furniture, lighting, acoustics, signage and more.
The goal is to improve educational technologies and make learning spaces more user-friendly and visually appealing. We know that quality facilities are critical for learning and teaching, so the renovations will improve the faculty and student experience.
The upgraded AV will offer a more integrated experience for faculty and students, as well as improving accessibility for students with visual and hearing impairments. Upgraded classroom technologies will include new projectors that provide high brightness and accurate colors, flat-panel displays for certain rooms, standard HDMI connections to plug laptops into high-definition screens for faculty and student presentations and intuitive control panels that make classroom technologies easier to use.
Most project work will be completed by the start of the fall semester, and any work that continues beyond then will be minor and completed outside of general operating hours to accommodate class schedules. Additional spaces will undergo improvements over the winter break.
Reminder: Central Classroom Building is badge-access only
Just a reminder that the Central Classroom Building has moved to badge-access only, and entry doors will remain locked through the summer.
Please look for updates on these projects throughout the summer as MSU Denver works to offer working and learning environments that truly reflect the quality of our institution. For questions related to these improvement projects, please email [email protected].
I hope you will continue to follow this series so we can keep working together to serve students and meet our mission.
Sincerely,
Larry Sampler
Vice president for Administration, Finance and Facilities and chief operating officer