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LIT closes amid coronavirus concerns
Lamar Institute of Technology President Dr. Lonnie Howard released a letter to students, staff and stakeholders announcing that students would not be returning to classes after Spring Break due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns. He told students instruction would resume March 23 through "alternative" formats and that classes were expected to resume normally on March 30, pending possible changes related to the ongoing pandemic.
Dr. Howard released the following letter on March 12:
Good evening LIT Family,
Ensuring the health and safety of our students, staff, faculty, and external stakeholders is a major concern for me. As a result of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Lamar Institute of Technology (LIT) has decided that students will not return to the campus immediately following spring break (March 16-20). Instruction will resume the following week (March 23-28) as all classes will be moved to an ‘alternative’ or ‘distance’ learning format. While we are continuing to monitor this situation carefully, everyone should realize that as conditions might change the following plan might need to change as well.
Students:
· Follow CDC sanitary and hygiene guidelines, available on the CDC website.
· March 16-20 - Complete the LIT Spring Break Survey.
· March 23-28 - Students are required to remain off-campus using ‘alternative’ or ‘distance’ learning formats. Please continue to monitor Lamar Institute of Technology’s webpage for up-to-date information: www.lit.edu.
· March 30 - Return to regular class schedule and format.
Faculty:
· Follow CDC sanitary and hygiene guidelines.
· March 16-20 - Complete the LIT Spring Break Survey.
· March 23-28 - Continue the migration of courses to the Blackboard platform and engage students to continue to work on assignments, read their textbooks and other lecture materials.
· March 30 - Return to regular class schedule, format and office hours.
Staff:
· Follow CDC sanitary and hygiene guidelines.
· March 16-19 - Complete the LIT Spring Break Survey.
· March 20 - Staff off on Friday and the college is closed.
· March 23-28 - Resume normal duties and business operations.
· March 30 - Work their assigned schedule.
External Stakeholders:
· Please continue to monitor Lamar Institute of Technology’s webpage for up-to-date information: www.lit.edu.
Large Group Gatherings:
All large events (on or off-campus) at LIT are cancelled until further notice.
Facilities:
All LIT facilities will receive a ‘deep clean’ Friday (March 20) and Saturday (March 21). Cleaning staff will continue this effort by utilizing disinfecting cleaners.
Travel:
· LIT has discontinued ALL out-of-state travel without the approval of the President until further notice.
· Students, Faculty, and Staff are strongly advised not to travel internationally for Spring Break per the CDC.
Due to COVID-19, we are dealing with some challenging times. But LIT is at its strongest when we work together for the betterment of our students.
Thanks for all you do,
Lonnie L. Howard
President