Date: May 13, 2021
TO: NYU Parents
FROM: NYU President Andrew Hamilton

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Loved Ones of NYU Students,

As the spring semester draws to a close — classes ended on Monday for most students, and we are now in the final examination period — we continue to develop our plans for the fall, when in-person classes will resume.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming a nearly full complement of students, faculty, and employees to campus in the fall. As we do, their health and welfare will continue to be a priority in 2021-22. There have been two particularly important developments in that regard.

First, we are planning to require that every NYU student studying in the US be fully vaccinated by the start of the fall semester. We were able to support that goal this semester by vaccinating nearly 3,600 students, with many others getting vaccinated at the numerous locations now offering vaccinations in New York.

Second, we are also requiring that everyone in the NYU community who has been vaccinated — student, faculty, and employee — upload proof of vaccination. It is vital that the University have a clear understanding of what percentage of our community is vaccinated to make the best-informed public health decisions.

So, I’d like to ask for your help: with summer looming, most students won’t be vaccinated through our Student Health Center (where proof of vaccination is automatically uploaded). If your student was vaccinated or will be vaccinated anywhere other than our Student Health Center, they will need to manually upload proof of their vaccination. Would you please urge them to promptly upload the information once they are fully vaccinated? It’s quick and easy (the instructions can be found here), and it is important information for us to have.

This week I wrote to your students with our expectations for life on campus this coming fall. I invite you to read the letter so that you also have a picture of our aims for the next academic year.

This has been a long, trying year for everyone. Even as we see more optimistic signs — the falling rates of new cases in New York and on our campus, the ever-growing number of people being vaccinated, our planning for a “more normal” year in 2021-22, even the beautiful weather that lightens our mood — we know that some of the effects of this past year will linger. We will have to deal with another year of change as we move more towards pre-COVID routines, and with the anxiety and challenges that persist.

But I have faith in this community to overcome and to thrive. The perseverance that our students — and all of you — have shown since March 2020 has been extraordinary. When someone utters the phrase “violet pride,” it is this past year I will think about: the way the whole community came together to sustain our teaching and learning and research. I feel enormous pride; I hope you do, too. It leaves us excited for the coming academic year.

I will continue to be in touch, as I have throughout the year, as our plans develop.

Thank you for your support and trust.

Sincerely,

Andrew Hamilton
President
New York University