In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Bonaventure University is restricting visitors to campus beginning immediately and until further notice.

The general public can continue to use the spur of the Allegheny River Recreation Trail that runs around the perimeter of campus, but otherwise, the only people allowed on campus other than students and employees are the following:

• Contractors working for the university;
• Essential vendors and business partners;
• Delivery drivers;
• Prospective students (for individual or small group visits);
• Parents and families during move-in and move-out periods;
• Box holders at the U.S. Post Office in the Reilly Center.

Signs listing the visitation restrictions will be posted at all the entrances to campus and on the recreation trail within the next week or so. Campus community members should contact Safety & Security to address any compliance issues with the public.

Employees are prohibited from having their family members come to campus unless they are just stopping to pick someone up.

“We recognize that these limits aren’t desirable, especially for parents who’d like to come to campus to visit their children,” said Dr. Dennis DePerro, university president. “But these extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures, and protecting the health of the entire campus community is our top priority.”

Parents are welcome to visit their children during the semester, but other than going for a walk on the recreation trail, they can only pick them up on campus to take them off campus to either the hotel they might be staying at, or to go shopping or to a local restaurant.

Basketball season-ticket holders need to purchase their tickets via credit card online, or pay by phone or mail. For questions, contact the Reilly Center Ticket Office at (716) 375-2500.

Only students and SBU staff — but not their family members — will be allowed to attend Masses at the University Chapel. Access will be through the hallway doors in Doyle Hall to allow for an accurate headcount to maintain social distancing guidelines in the chapel.

University Ministries is developing a Bona Buddies outreach plan to continue engagement with local children, who will not be able to come to campus weekly to meet with SBU students.

Face coverings are required for all visitors while on campus. Acceptable face coverings for COVID-19 include but are not limited to cloth-based face coverings (e.g. homemade sewn, quick cut, bandana, neck gaiter), surgical masks, and face shields that cover both the mouth and nose.

Most students return to campus Aug. 21-23. The university announced in June that the academic year would start a week early, on Aug. 24, with in-person instruction to end Tuesday, Nov. 24. The academic semester will end with 10 days of online-only instruction and final exams after the Thanksgiving break.