Four Syracuse Professors Contract COVID-19 | Inside Higher Ed

Four faculty members in Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications tested positive for COVID-19 last week, the school said this week. Upon hearing of the first diagnosis, “we immediately activated the COVID response protocol as defined by the University’s COVID-19 Response Checklists,” Mark Lodato, Newhouse dean, wrote in a memo to professors. “Since that time, the contact tracing process did exactly what it was supposed to do: identify and notify individuals who came into close contact with the infected individual.” 

More cases were identified as part of that process and are being similarly addressed, Lodato said. More cases among faculty and staff members are likely this academic year, he added. All currently impacted faculty members have been in quarantine since last week and temporary instructors are teaching their classes. Syracuse requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination from all students, faculty and staff members, with medical and religious exemptions. A spokesperson did not say whether all four professors were vaccinated, citing concerns about their privacy.