Finals are over and a challenging semester has come to an end.
It’s hard to imagine a more difficult environment in which to work. Although COVID-19 continues to stalk our lives, you made it possible for Spelman and the Atlanta University Center Consortium to make it through the semester with consistently low positivity
rates and no major outbreaks. We know that our success depended on you and the diligence of our students.
We thank you for complying with the intrusion of a weekly testing regimen, not to mention randomized PCR tests. We thank you for putting up with the inconvenience of wearing your mask indoors and out, observing social distancing and complying with our vaccine mandate.
Through your diligence, you helped Spelman College create one of the safest spaces in Atlanta, and I write now to make sure that you know that we are all grateful. Thank you.
Despite our success, I know that we all missed what some have called our "public culture," that is our ability to gather for Spelman’s traditional community convenings. In an abundance of caution, Spelman did not hold the usual in-person events that, traditionally, help shape the Spelman experience. There were no in-person convocations or lectures and very few of our signature
events. Our hope is that this will change next semester. If we do not face another surge or experience an outbreak of another variant, our intent is to restore some of the events that are a fundamental part of our communal identity.
This year’s concert was filmed live in Sisters Chapel and will be available on Spelman.edu and the Spelman Facebook and YouTube channels.
Celebrating its 95th anniversary, the Christmas Carol Concert is one of our most venerable traditions and we hope that you take great pleasure in the beauty of the voices of our young men and women who give us so much hope.
As a reminder, please note that Spelman College will be closed between December 20, 2021 and January 3,
2022.
I hope that all of us take this time to have a restful and renewing holiday break.
May light and love embrace you, your family and loved ones in this season of hope and, in the words of the Spelman Hymn, "May Peace With Thee Abide."
Warmly,
Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D. President, Spelman College
