DelVal Planning To Reopen Campus In Fall

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Delaware Valley University in Doylestown is moving ahead to plan for in-person instruction in the fall. The local university, which has been conducting virtual classes this semester due to coronavirus, announced that the school is creating plans to hold classes on campus for the fall.

"We will follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania regarding how we open campus," said DelVal President Dr. Maria Gallo. "There is no question that our students, faculty and staff want to be together as a community again.”

The Wolf administration has established Governor’s Paths Forward Education Committee, which will provide recommendations for reopening education across the state.

Gallo is on the board of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. Leadership on that board is on the governor's Path Forward committee and will be "working closely with the Governor to develop strategies for a safe opening for schools," DelVal said in a statement.

Pennsylvania Education Secretary Pedro Rivera has made recent comments that cast doubt that the state's public schools will reopen for elementary and secondary students.

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Eric Levis, the Pennsylvania Department of Education press secretary, said schools are "adapting constantly" but stopped short of saying a fall reopening is guaranteed.

" At this time, there are no plans to keep schools closed in the 2020-21 school year; however, any future decisions made regarding school openings will be grounded in the health and safety of our students," he said in a statement provided to Patch.

Meanwhile at DelVal: An opening will include enhanced safety measures, officials said. "An implementation task force will coordinate those plans with strategies for social distancing and other contingencies that may be required for a safe opening," DelVal said.

"We will provide updates over the coming weeks as we work through the details for opening the campus to students," Gallo said. "DelVal faculty, staff and administration are working tirelessly to bring our community back together safely on campus as soon as possible."

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