Augsburg President Pribbenow has decided not to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations at this time based on three factors: (1) the culture of Augsburg, where our strength comes from common purpose and shared conviction, (2) public health data, including COVID-19 case rates and the vaccination data we are now gathering, and (3) trends among our peer institutions. Irrespective of the policy, we are committed to doing the work necessary to achieve the highest vaccination rate possible by fall.

As part of that effort, Augsburg University has joined the COVID-19 College Vaccination Challenge launched by the White House and the U.S. Department of Education. 

In joining the challenge, Augsburg is committing to three significant efforts:

• Engage every student, faculty, and staff member. The response to date from our faculty/staff survey (with an 85% response rate so far) indicates that a remarkable 97% of staff and full-time faculty will be vaccinated by August 16! Although the survey did not include part-time faculty, because fall adjunct appointments are not yet finalized, we will include all instructors in our vaccination outreach efforts.

  We also have initiatives underway to track and increase vaccination rates among students. We will be working with the Minnesota Department of Health over the summer to review aggregate vaccination rates among Augsburg students. To complement that effort, we will conduct a student survey asking students to let us know if they need help getting vaccinated this summer. These efforts will also include the Augsburg students who will register during SOAR and in the weeks after.

• Organize the college community by identifying champions for vaccine efforts and implementing a plan to get as many members of the campus vaccinated as possible. The Augsburg Day Student Government has created a student-led video to encourage students to get vaccinated, and our COVID-19 Response Team is preparing resources and support for students who want additional information about or help getting vaccinated.

• Deliver vaccine access for all. Augsburg has been promoting information about free, no-appointment vaccines in the metropolitan area and has partnered with People’s Center Clinic to offer several vaccine clinics for Auggies just across the street from campus. We also are holding on-campus Johnson & Johnson vaccination events during student orientation SOAR events this summer, which are available to all students, staff, and faculty, as well as their families and friends. (See A-mail for details.)