Coronavirus Updates

November 18, 2020   |  Campus Communication

Important Fall Term Updates

 

Dear Benedictine Students,

We hope our entire Benedictine communities can take pride in the way we have addressed and handled the COVID Pandemic during summer and fall terms. Our faculty, staff and students “masked up” as recommended by our health experts, our dining services did not miss one day of serving our community, we were able to allow students to reside on campus in a safe environment, we offered experiential courses and labs on-ground as our faculty and students practiced social distancing with the proper protocols to ensure the safety of all, and we successfully created the Benedictine Learning Centers to allow students safe space on campus to study and attend virtual courses. These are just a few of the many accomplishments we celebrate. Our community came together to “Protect our Flock” and due to the enormous cooperation of all, we were able to make it to this point.  

We are now faced with the predicted second surge. Our health experts are calling on each of us to be vigilant to protect our campus and our communities. As we approach the holidays, we are all very concerned about the rise in COVID cases that are taking place in Illinois. The health and safety of our community is our priority. We wanted to provide a brief note to clarify the plans for the remainder of the Fall semester and the break between the Fall and the start of the Winter Term and Spring Semester.

• All classes, including those that were being offered face to face, will all move to the virtual learning environment on Monday, November 23rd.
• Beginning Saturday, November 21^st, campus building access and availability will be modified 
• All buildings identified as “Locked with no access” will not be accessible for any reason.  

Goodwin Hall                                Locked with no access

Kindlon Hall                                   Locked with no access

Birck Hall                                       Locked with no access

Scholl Hall                                     Locked with no access

Coal Ben Pub                                Locked with no access

Rice Center                                   Locked with no access

Lownik Hall                                    Scheduled access only

Krasa Student Center                    7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily (Check in with University Police and wear your ID lanyard)

• While commuter students are encouraged to remain at home, reservations will be made available to study in the Krasa Center. To book space, CLICK HERE

Resident Students:

While we understand many students will choose to go home early, the University Housing & Residence Life office remains committed to our Return to Housing plan announced in August and most recently in our Fall Housing Closing communication which concludes on campus Saturday, November 28 at 12:00 p.m.  All students should follow the fall checkout procedures outlined in the Fall 2020 Resident Closing Packet. No student is to depart University Housing without returning their room key(s). Checkout schedules are through Tuesday, November 24^th and during the morning hours of Saturday, November 28^th. Below are links to each residential community checkout schedule via Microsoft Bookings. 

Founders Woods Residents – Founders’ Woods Checkout Schedule

Ondrak Residents – Ondrak Checkout Schedule

Jaeger Residents– Jaeger Checkout Schedule

Residents who are seeking a checkout outside of the hours provided via the bookings app can drop off keys at one of the two locations:

• University Housing Office located in the Krasa Student Center Mon-Fri during the hours of 9am-4pm.
• University Police located in the Parking Garage all other times. 

BenUeats / Campus Dining:

BenUeats operations will continue food service at Benny’s Dining through evening dinner service on Tuesday November 24, 2020.  The BenUeats culinary team is ready to celebrate with our students the end of the semester by offering some themed food options centered around packing-up and returning home for the winter break.

#COFFEE is scheduled to close at 3PM on Friday November 20 and will re-open on January 11, 2021.

We recognize the next few weeks are a critical element in the Fall Term and know there are many pressures you are facing as we move virtually, approach finals, and continue to face the impacts of a global pandemic. As we enter this time, please remember there are resources available to help support academic success as we work towards a strong finish to the semester and registration for the spring semester. These resources include:

Dean of Students  – Marco Masini, 630-829-6006 or mmasini@ben.edu

University Housing – Liz Velez, 630-829-6496 or housing@ben.edu           

Academic and Career Enrichment Center (ACE) – Dr. Julie Cosimo, 630-829-6041 or ace@ben.edu

BenU Learning Center – Marc Davidson, 630-629-6346 or mdavidson@ben.edu

Athletics – Paul Nelson, 630-829-6144 or pnelson@ben.edu        

Parent and Family Engagement – Yvette Knox, 630-829-1317 or yknox@ben.edu

Ministry – Carrie Ankeny, 630-629-6028 or cankeny@ben.edu

Counseling – Liz Sodero, 630-829-1800 or esodaro@ben.edu

Health Services – Sue Salerno or Pam Deely, 630-829-6046

Advising – advising@ben.edu

Library – Jack Fritts, 630-829-6050

Thank you for all you have done and are continuing to do to be resilient in the changes throughout the semester. We encourage you to use the resources above, remain in communication with each other, and find time for renewal as possible. Our community has responded in so many positive ways since the beginning of the pandemic and we are confident that you will once again rise to the occasion in ending the semester well.  

We hope you and your families stay safe in this uncertain time. I wish you all the best on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and to have a successful end of the semester. 

Stay safe,

Dr. Ken Newbold, Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Mark McHorney, Chief Engagement Officer