University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., announced that the university plans to offer full in-person instruction for the fall 2021 semester in an email to the Fordham community on March 9 — the one-year anniversary of the cancellation of in-person instruction.

This reopening plan is contingent on the success of mass vaccination efforts between now and the start of the fall semester on Sept. 1. McShane wrote that the federal government projects that all adults will have access to the vaccine by the summer, which prompted the university’s decision about the fall.

New York is currently vaccinating people in Phases 1a and 1b, which includes in-person college faculty and staff, food service workers, and EMTs. Fordham has yet to receive a vaccine supply.

“We anticipate that many of the COVID-19 constraints under which we operate today will be relaxed as the pandemic subsides following mass vaccination efforts,” he said. 

The email also stated that the university will “consider ways to accommodate” students who are currently remote and cannot return by Sept. 1 due to travel restrictions or health concerns.

Even if vaccine rollout goes as projected, it does not appear that increased in-person instruction will return any earlier than the fall. The university announced last week that all study abroad programs will be canceled for summer 2021, and Fordham’s New York campuses will continue to offer synchronous and asynchronous instruction options.

McShane wrote that the university will provide continued updates in advance of the fall semester.

On this day last year, all face-to-face classes were canceled for at least the next two weeks, until March 30, 2020. The university then announced its transition to a fully online format on March 13, 2020, for the remainder of the semester.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.