Students
atop Dinosaur Hill in 2019 taking part in one of the traditional Rocker Days
homecoming celebration events at Mines. The university is planning a return to
activities like this in the coming Fall 2021 semester.
South Dakota Mines is planning a return to more normal
operations this coming fall. The university is also is following the South
Dakota Board of Regents by removing mask and social distancing requirements
for most of campus on Monday, May 10, at the start of summer operations.
This fall, Mines
plans to offer regular in-person classes, a full athletics schedule, student
activities and the traditional homecoming celebration. If any COVID safety
measures are needed in the fall, they will be implemented as the situation
dictates.
“Thanks
to the cooperation and diligence of our students, faculty and staff, we kept
COVID-19 numbers relatively low on campus this year,” says Mines President Jim
Rankin. “The vaccination effort is seeing great progress in Rapid City. We look
forward to return to a more normal mode of operation in the coming fall.”
President
Rankin says that measures to limit the spread of COVID will likely continue on
campus this spring. But as vaccination rates increase and if COVID cases remain
low, the university hopes to transition to fewer restrictions. Mines is
planning for an in-person graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 8, with details
to be announced.
The
South Dakota Board of Regents announced that all six public universities in
the state and two special schools are planning to return to normalcy in the
fall
While face coverings and social distancing will no
longer be required on campus after May 10, anyone who chooses to wear a mask is still
welcome to do so.
The mask mandate will remain in effect for at least
the first part of summer in the Museum of
Geology. The museum will lift social distancing and capacity limits on May 10,
but the mask requirement will remain in place to protect guests and staff. While
much of the campus is a little quieter in the summer, museum traffic is the opposite.
The Museum of Geology is a popular destination for thousands of visitors from
outside the region. The museum mask mandate will be reevaluated mid-summer
based on COVID vaccination numbers and community spread.