Cabrini U Will Require COVID-19 Vaccination For Fall 2021

RANDOR, PA — Cabrini University will require all students, faculty, and staff to be fully vaccinated by Aug. 15, in anticipation of the University’s planned in-person campus experience for the fall 2021 semester.

"We have listened to the recommendations of local health officials, as well as voices within our community, and recognize that a fully vaccinated campus is essential to realizing a safe return to the true face-to-face Cabrini experience our community has so strongly indicated it wants," said Cabrini President Donald B. Taylor, Ph.D.

"With vaccines now widely available, we look forward to returning to a more traditional in-person and on-campus Cabrini experience this fall," Taylor added.

The University announced in March that it will resume in-person operations on a more traditional on-campus schedule with increased face-to-face engagement and more robust on-campus offerings — in accordance with all COVID-19 mitigation measures identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health authorities.

Students can expect in-person guest lectures and athletic events, among other group activities starting in the fall.

For community members who cannot receive the COVID-19 vaccine, either due to a medical condition or religious belief, an exemption process is available.

"Many of our students have said they are eager to resume co-curricular activities, like visiting friends in their residence halls and eating together in dining halls," said Stephen M. Rupprecht, Ed.D., Dean of Students and COVID-19 Task Force Chair.

"The safest way to resume these group activities is by requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for all members of our campus community," he said.

The decision follows successful fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters, in which students enjoyed in-person, hybrid, hyflex, and remote coursework, utilizing whichever format best fits their needs, the University explained in a news statement.

Residence halls on campus reopened in August of last year, following a spring 2020 semester that adapted to a fully virtual learning modality with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in March 2020.

:To date, our students have done a remarkable job limiting the spread of the coronavirus on Cabrini’s campus, and many have already been vaccinated against COVID-19," Rupprecht said. "We are thrilled to offer students the close-knit Cabrini experience they have awaited."

Founded in 1957 by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cabrini University enrolls approximately 1,550 undergraduates in more than 40 majors and pre-professional programs on its 112-acre campus in Radnor. The University also enrolls 525 students in graduate, doctoral, and professional studies programs.

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