By Michelle Price
Special to the UCBJ
COOKEVILLE – Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham Tuesday announced that the Spring Commencement will be postponed, and all other campus events are cancelled through May 9.
In an email to the Tech Campus, Oldham informed students, faculty and staff of the changes to campus life brought about by the coronavirus.
Students were aware that after spring break, classes would be conducted through online instruction and alternate delivery for a brief period. That has now been extended for the duration of the semester. University staff are available by email to help each student, including those scheduled to graduate, to successfully complete the semester.
Offices are being staffed at minimal levels, with employees who are able to work from home making that transition this week. Students and visitors should call or email prior to coming to campus for any appointments.
All face-to-face meetings will be conducted with less than 10 people. Any meeting requiring more than 10 people will be conducted virtually.
Students that need to check out of dorms should contact Residential Life at reslife@tntech.edu. Checkouts are being scheduled through March 29 but can be postponed to a later date if necessary.
For those that remain on campus, many services will be drastically scaled back.
Dining services will be limited to Chik-fil-A and the Caf, which will offer take-away only.
The Volpe Library will operate on spring break hours through March 29, while the university bookstore operates online only.
In accordance with the Governor’s Executive Order 17, the fitness center is closed.
Spring Commencement will be postponed. Student leaders will help to plan an event to celebrate on an alternate date that will be announced soon.
These are considerable changes to university life, but Oldham stressed that Tech’s priority remains the health and safety of the university community.
