Hawk's Eye View

The New Normal on Campus

Daily health screenings, PCR tests, and contact tracing entered the everyday lexicon of the University of Hartford community during the 2020–21 academic year. Classes and life on campus resumed last fall—albeit in a much different way than ever before. “Keeping Hawks Healthy” was the year’s theme—and students, faculty, and staff responded as UHart became a model school for how to successfully and safely maintain on-campus living and learning through both semesters of the academic year.

Two key tools were introduced on campus to help keep the community safe. A team of 14 registered nurses conducted professional contact tracing, a contrast to many other universities that relied on students or staff. The University also took an unusual precaution in implementing wastewater testing, which indicates the prevalence of COVID-19 within a community and pinpoints a rise in infections before positive tests occur.