To: Wellesley College Faculty and Staff
From: Andrew Shennan, Provost and Lia Gelin Poorvu ’56 Dean of the College, and Karen Petrulakis, General Counsel
Re: Guidance on mask wearing
Date: September 2, 2022
We are writing to clarify the guidance the College gave earlier this summer related to masking on campus. As a general rule for the fall 2022 semester, masks are optional on campus and in all campus buildings, with the exception of classrooms, Health Services, Stone Center Counseling Service, and in the testing center in the College Club, where they are required. This policy is subject to the following qualifications:
- Faculty members may make masking optional in their own classrooms, laboratories, and studios at their discretion.
- Masks are required during the five-day isolation period for individuals who have tested positive and for the next five days.
- Masking is required* for close contacts of individuals who have tested positive and encouraged for several days following out-of-state or international travel.
The default expectation is that masking is required in all classrooms, laboratories, and studios. However, instructors have complete discretion, within their own classrooms, laboratories and studios, to make masking optional both for themselves and for their students. Faculty members who want to make masks optional should simply announce their policy at the beginning of the first class and be clear that those who prefer to wear a mask are encouraged to do so without any questions or pressure (explicit or implicit).
As we head into a semester with more relaxed COVID-19 protocols and more scope for individual preference, it is essential that we respect one another’s choices in relation to mask-wearing, and avoid making assumptions or asking questions about those choices.
*Correction made on 9/6 that masks are required—rather than encouraged—for confirmed close contacts.
