Cumberland University announced today that it will have students and faculty return to campus for the Fall 2020 semester amid COVID-19.

“We are committed to reopening our campus in the Fall 2020,” said University President Paul Stumb. “We do acknowledge that based on regulations and advice from officials and the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there may be necessary operational adjustments, but we are willing to do all we can to open our campus this fall.”

In addition to reopening campus, Cumberland will also participate in all sporting events for the 2020-2021 season.

“I’m excited to announce that our athletic teams will be back competing in the fall,” said Director of Athletics and Vice President for Enrollment Services Ron Pavan. “We will continue to work closely with the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference to determine exactly what that looks like in the fall, but we’re excited to be back.”

The university moved to remote classes on March 16 and continued online for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. All summer semester classes will be delivered remotely. 

Cumberland has postponed its Commencement Ceremony, originally scheduled for Sat., May 2, to Sat., June 20. 

A University Coronavirus Task Force has been meeting regularly over the past few months and will continue to meet to prepare for the reopening. The group is discussing various options for how to safely deliver curriculum in the fall. 

“This is a challenging time, but we’re going to make every effort to keep our students, faculty and staff safe, while also giving students the best possible experience – both in and out of the classroom,” said Stumb.

For more information on Cumberland’s response to COVID-19, please visit cumberland.edu/coronavirus/.