Dean's Letter to the Albany Law School Community
March 10, 2020
Albany Law School Community:
I write to update you on Albany Law School's response to the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.
Albany Law School's leadership team has been actively monitoring developments, following the guidance of public health officials, and discussing proactive measures to slow down the potential spread of COVID-19. Over the weekend, the governor confirmed two cases in the Capital Region—both in Saratoga County. At this time there are no confirmed cases in Albany County.
Albany Law School has adopted a number of temporary policies, all of which are rooted in a good faith effort to prevent contagion. Those policies are available at albanylaw.edu/Coronavirus. One of those policies affects public events.
While the law school remains open and residential courses will continue as normal, we have decided to postpone or cancel all large (more than 100 people), non-essential public events, meetings, or gatherings. This policy is effective immediately through Wednesday, April 15, and will be reevaluated thereafter.
What does this policy include?
- All law school– and student-sponsored events, as well as events sanctioned by outside organizations, for which a significant number of participants are expected from outside the law school's community.
What does this policy exclude?
- Essential on-campus events, or events for which the primary audience is limited to students, faculty, and staff. These exclusions will continue to be evaluated and are subject to change as the situation dictates.
We realize that this is disappointing to many of you. A member of our staff, faculty, or leadership team will be reaching out to each event's organizers in the coming days. In the meantime, if you believe your event should be classified as essential or otherwise excluded based on the policy, please reach out to Barbara Jordan-Smith (bjord@albanylaw.edu) with the title and date of your event and a brief explanation. These submissions will be evaluated by our leadership team on a case-by-case basis.
Again, we regret any inconvenience or hard feelings that this may cause. We made this decision out of an abundance of caution, and with great care. The continued health and safety of our community is our top priority.
As always, I am available to all who want to talk.
All my best,
