Three prominent historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) — Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University — announced on Monday they will remain fully online this fall due to escalating COVID-19 cases nationwide.
All three schools are located within the same Atlanta county — Fulton County — which had approximately 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases when schools began shutting down in March. As of July 20, the county has more than 13,000 confirmed cases.
In letters to their respective communities on Monday, the three colleges’ presidents detailed their decision-making processes, with some retracting previous plans to reopen campuses this fall.
In his letter, Morehouse College president Dr. David A. Thomas cited a list released in June highlighting more than 30 COVID-19 hotspots in the U.S. The list includes many of the states from which Morehouse draws students, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, he said.
“The rapid spread of COVID-19 in these states has made it clear that keeping campus housing closed, is the best option at this time,” Thomas said. “This is a disappointing turn of events for all of us, but I believe it is the best and most prudent path forward. It is imperative that we get this right because there is too much to risk if we don’t.”
Morehouse said teaching and learning, beginning Aug. 19, will be remote through the end of finals, scheduled for Nov. 20. If conditions permit, the college will re-open the campus for in-person instruction and “low-density residential opportunities” during the spring 2021 semester, which begins on Feb. 1, 2021, Thomas said.
While the rest of the college goes fully online, the Morehouse School of Medicine will still move forward with its previously announced hybrid fall plan due to the school’s crucial role in training healthcare and medical professionals.
