3/12/21 - Dean's Message re: Summer Session 2021
Dear Southwestern Students,
I hope our traditional students are enjoying Spring Break – getting more rest and sleep than usual, having some fun, and using the week for course review and catchup. And I hope our SCALE I students are nicely getting settled into Period 4. It’s also that time of the year that you are probably thinking ahead to coursework over the Summer Session and even next fall and wondering whether we’ll be back on campus now that the Library is open on a limited basis.
I am thrilled that we’ve received the governmental green light to open our Library to provide study spaces for you. Los Angeles County deems the library reopenings an initial step to reopening colleges and universities. With the roll-out of vaccinations, we hope that governmental authorities will allow colleges and universities to open up more campus facilities by fall.
Though the Library is now open and we anticipate will stay open moving forward, the current governmental orders and anticipated timeline of vaccinations do not provide the certainty we need to hold summer classes on campus. For this reason, all classes in our Summer Session, which starts on June 1st and runs through July 28, will be held online. We’ll have our typical extensive range of courses this summer, with the registration period scheduled from April 21 to 23. On April 14, we’ll host the 2021-22 Schedule Overview, and on April 21, prior to the start of the summer registration period, the Dean of Students Office will host our annual Table Day event (familiarizing you with our course offerings and Concentrations).
Next, thinking about the fall semester and Period 5, there’s nothing I’d like more than for all of us to be back on campus. But I know we need to be patient and see how the vaccination roll-out proceeds and what governmental orders may be in place. But in order to give you plenty of notice to make arrangements for your living situation and otherwise, we plan to let you know by early June whether the fall semester and Period 5 classes will be on campus, remote, or a combination.
In closing, I’d like to say how proud I am of each and every Southwestern student’s resilience and resolve to forge ahead with your studies, a myriad of law school and professional activities, and support for one another in this highly unusual and challenging year. I am proud to be your Dean. And, as always, I encourage you to reach out with any thoughts or questions you may have.
Warmly,
Dean Susan