April 16, 2021

Dear Bennington Community,

I am writing to share our plans to welcome back members of our community to Bennington in the fall as we prepare for a more vibrant, connected and collaborative learning experience.

Students

To ensure the health of the community and to provide a safe environment for learning and living, Bennington College will require full vaccination for students returning to campus for Fall 2021.

The benefits of vaccination are many: reduction or prevention of serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. Broad immunization is critical to controlling the spread of the virus and to protecting our community. A safer Bennington College community supports a safer Vermont for our families and our neighbors.

We are committed to working with students who may have trouble accessing a vaccine before they arrive on campus and with those who have qualifying exemptions including, for example, medical and religious reasons. We will communicate more details over the coming months.

Staff and Faculty

We are pleased to hear that so many staff and faculty have already received their COVID-19 vaccines and we strongly encourage all employees to be vaccinated as soon as you are eligible. We have not yet made a decision about whether we will require all staff and faculty to be vaccinated in the fall, with qualifying exemptions including medical and religious reasons.

For those who have been vaccinated, the State of Vermont offers detailed guidance on travel and gathering. Vermont residents who are fully vaccinated may travel to and return to Vermont without quarantine. For complete details, check out the State's guidance.

We’ll be in touch later this term with more details about the benefits of vaccination—for example, if and when individuals may discontinue daily symptom monitoring or rolling testing.

I appreciate your patience, understanding, and commitment to health and safety during these challenging times.

Thank you for all you are doing.

Sincerely,

Laura Walker
President