Maryville College 'cautiously optimistic' about returning for fall classes

Maryville College says it is "cautiously optimistic" about students resuming in-person classes and residential living in the fall.

According to a release, the college president, Dr. Tom Bogart, made the announcement to staff and students Monday.

“I know you are hopeful that in-person classes will resume, that residence halls and dining rooms will reopen, and that the Maryville College community will be together again, physically,” he stated in the memo. “College leadership is hopeful, as well. After weeks of monitoring local infection rates and the guidance from federal, state and local health authorities, we are cautiously optimistic that Maryville College will be able to open in the fall, though exactly what the semester will look like is uncertain at this time.”

Bogart developed the Contingency Planning Task Force that is set to meet throughout May and make recommendations for the fall.

He added that they hope to announce specific details over the summer.

“For a while, we will have to live with a level of uncertainty that feels uncomfortable, but I’m confident that we will make the right decisions for our campus community,” Bogart stated in the memo. “At Maryville, we say that we prepare students for the everyday and the unexpected, and I have seen even more proof of this—and of our faculty and staff members’ adaptability—since March.”