Messages from the Dean

Letters to Graduate Students:

Most Recent:

Subject: Keeping Our Community Healthy and Safe

September 15, 2021

Dear Graduate Students,

I hope the beginning of the fall term has gone well for you and that you are back in the swing of your graduate studies. These are challenging times, so please do not hesitate to take advantage of the resources I mentioned in my previous letter to you. I also want to remind you that Counseling Services offers individual counseling sessions, workshops, and other resources in support of graduate students experiencing stress.

University leaders continue to make and review decisions regarding campus operations in consultation with health experts and local officials according to clear and carefully considered guidelines. As members of the SMU community, however, we all have an important part to play in keeping our campus healthy and safe. The decisions University leaders make rely on an accurate understanding of the numbers of students, faculty, and staff who are vaccinated. I want to ask you, therefore, if you were vaccinated off campus, to please upload your vaccination information directly to the SMU Health Portal, even if you already voluntarily shared your status through the vaccine reporting tool last spring. This will only take you a few moments, and it will greatly benefit your community. If you were vaccinated on campus, your information will automatically be uploaded into your health record under immunizations (no action is necessary). If you have not been vaccinated, COVID-19 vaccinations are available to all members of the SMU community (ages 12 and older) and are now being administered inside the Dr. Bob Smith Health Center. All current and incoming students, SMU employees and their eligible spouse/dependents can book a vaccination appointment through the SMU Health Portal or by calling the Dr. Bob Smith Health Center at 214-768-2141 (option 1).

I also encourage you to take the time to read and sign the updated Pledge to Protect. Signing the Pledge to Protect is voluntary, but doing so demonstrates your commitment to do your part to keep our community healthy and safe.

Finally, I know that SMU graduate students are taking important steps to protect the health of our community, and I want to express my profound gratitude to all of you for your contributions to this effort.

Sincerely,