University Recommends Students, Faculty, Staff at Tuscany Campus Return to United States

In a University-wide message, President Kaplan updates the campus community on recommendations being made to Tuscany campus students, faculty, and staff.

February 25, 2020

Dear Members of the Campus Community,

I am writing to inform you that due to the evolving threat of the coronavirus in Europe, we are recommending that students, faculty, and staff currently at the University’s Tuscany campus in Prato, Italy, return to the United States. We are assisting all students, faculty, and staff in Prato who would like to return to the United States to enable them to do so in the coming days.

Those returning from Tuscany are required to return to their homes until the conclusion of Spring Break on March 22. At that time, we hope to give those impacted the option to return to Tuscany, or they will be able to complete the spring semester in West Haven.

For any students who wish to remain in Tuscany, we will, as always, do our best to offer them the resources they need to continue their studies.

The decision to recommend that those in Prato return to the United States was made following consultation with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Consulate, the Italian Educational Ministry, the Italian Department of Civil Protection, Italian health authorities, and the Association of American College and University Programs in Italy.

Our main concern is ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone in our campus community. We also want to ensure a smooth transition back to the United States for students who wish to return from Prato and limit the disruption this has on our students’ current academic pursuits.

We will continue to update the University community as necessary. Thank you in advance for helping to ease the impact of those affected by this situation.

With best wishes,

Steven H. Kaplan, Ph.D.
President