Carleton’s Board of Governors (BoG) discussed COVID-19, plans for the construction of a new residence building and course delivery options for the upcoming winter term during a virtual meeting on Dec. 3.
Winter 2022 update
President and vice-chancellor Benoit-Antoine Bacon provided an update about the new course delivery options for the winter term. Bacon said the university administration is paying attention to COVID cases in the city, the new Omicron variant and vaccination rates. He also said what is considered safe can change from week to week.
Bacon explained his decision to move more in-person classes online next semester by pointing to the increased threat of Omicron and mentioned that it is heavily mutated and possibly more transmissible than the Delta variant. He also said the university still needs to be cautious even with vaccine mandates on campus, since it is unclear how how effective vaccinations are against the new variant.
With the incoming cold weather and more activities moving indoors, Bacon said he was worried the new season could cause a rise in cases.
He also mentioned there could be potential operational consequences if the Government of Canada changes its definition of fully vaccinated from having two vaccines to having three, a decision which has been discussed in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Construction of new residence
The board approved plans for the construction of a new residence building on campus that is scheduled to be completed by September 2025. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the residence building was orginially scheduled to finish construction in August 2022.
Ann Tremblay, vice-chair of the board’s building program committee, said with the planning completed and approved, they are moving into the implementation phase of the project.
On Sept. 30, the board passed a motion to proceed with the designs and plans for the new building. The building will have space for 456 beds and will cost no more than $90 million, according to the motion.
The new residence building will be built on the corner of University Drive near the main entrance of the university. Tremblay said the building is being built to meet the growing demand for on-campus housing.
Construction is scheduled to start this winter and Tremblay said they will have to manage the risk of pandemic-related construction delays.
The board voted to approve moving forward with the project.
The next BoG meeting is scheduled for March 10.
Featured graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
