Welcome to the Fall 2021 Semester

Dear NJCU Students,
 

Welcome to the Fall 2021 semester at NJCU. Like our peers around the state, we are thrilled to be starting the fall semester in person. We welcomed our residential students back this weekend, along with our international students and student-athletes. 

In the coming weeks, NJCU will hold our 40th annual Convocation, Welcome Back Week with clubs and organizations, OSP and ASCEND events, competition on the athletic fields and in the gyms with our highly successful Gothic Knight athletics program, and performances, speaker series, and remarkable gallery exhibitions through The Center for the Arts. We are excited to welcome alumni and donors to our campus to meet faculty and students who are doing transformational work.

This summer, our athletics department hosted summer camps for the community and NJCU held our 25th Proyecto Science STEM program for middle and high school students. Additionally, our institution held summer programming and workshops for the arts.  

Last week, we were joined by many leaders in the state as we opened NJCU @ Fort Monmouth, a project that culminates a 15-year relationship with the region and provides the state with a public four-year degree option for those living near the Jersey Shore.  

This fall will be a ‘new normal’ for us. Following the FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine, Governor Murphy set safety protocols. Following those protocols, we will mandate masks for indoor use for everyone for at least the first month of the semester. Those who are unvaccinated will need to provide a negative COVID test that is less than 72 hours old before coming to campus. The rapid test will be offered free of charge on Tuesdays and Thursdays on campus. This is to ensure the safety of all of us — vaccinated or not.  

We have made great progress on vaccinations among faculty, staff and students and will be offering them to the campus twice a week in Lot 4, on the following dates:  

Students will need their first vaccination by September 17, unless they qualify for an exemption. Contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs for more information.  

I am looking forward to a robust and exciting fall semester.