By Neil Doyle

NORMAL – As students return to Illinois State University this fall, some faculty and staff are worried it might be too soon.

The ISU Board of Trustees heard from several faculty members during its meeting Friday morning, some not happy about the Redbirds Return plan.

Dr. Carrie Anna Courtad, a professor in the department of special education, thinks the university should continue remote learning this fall.

“Most people I speak to informally either on or off campus agree that possibly after four weeks of students returning to campus and engaging in typical collegiate interactions, the physical ISU campus will again need to be vacated, not closed, vacated,” she said.

Some faculty felt like their voices were not heard during the decision making process for the upcoming semester.

“I’m glad we have an open forum at the board of trustees meetings,” said board chair Julie Jones. “This morning hopefully they felt like they had an opportunity to be included and be heard and the trustees definitely heard loud and clear their concerns.”

Faculty in the English department sent a letter to university administration expressing discomfort to return this fall. While speaking with reporters, ISU President Larry Dietz explained why he didn’t respond to the letter.

“That initial letter that came from a number of faculty members in the English department was really more of an expression that they all wanted to teach remotely,” said Dietz. “That was not in my estimation up for discussion, they had just said what they wanted to do. I didn’t feel the need to respond to that at the time.”

During the virtual meeting on Zoom, there were several faculty members who expressed a desire to return to in-person classes.

Dietz said the Redbirds Return plan remains fluid. The current plan includes a mix of in-person and online learning and required face coverings while on campus. ISU’s first day of classes is Aug. 17.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]