The answer has finally come, the University of Wyoming will go back to in-person learning starting August 24, 2020 with funds from the Wyoming State Government.
“We got approved last Thursday [July, 2] for the $26.5 million.” said Chad Baldwin, UW’s institutional Communications director, “We will be on campus in August as long as nothing goes wonky.”
This news comes a whole month after the Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting in June when the board approved a motion to ask the State Legislature for the money to open campus up fully.
The funds came from the Governor’s office and the CARES act which provides emergency cash grants to students and educational institutions that have been disrupted by COVID-19.
The $26.5 million will be used for new protective equipment and to bring more custodians on to campus to keep everything clean and sanitized. The money will also be used to provide all faculty and staff and students with a saliva test before returning to campus.
The new cleaning crews will be bigger and have more disinfectant to clean the bathrooms and classrooms between uses. In addition, the money will be used to provide students and faculty/staff with the protective gear needed to attend class.
Classes will begin on August 24, 2020 and end in November before Thanksgiving and resume in January for a full 15 weeks. There is still a possibility that classes will be transitioned to be entirely online in the event of COVID-19 spreading on campus.
