In a community message today, Provost Joseph Helble and Executive Vice President Rick Mills announced an expected timeframe for employees who have been performing their jobs remotely to return to on-site work.

“Currently, we anticipate that employees who are presently working remotely will return to campus around Sept. 1, 2021,” Helble and Mills wrote in the email to faculty, staff, and students. About a quarter of Dartmouth’s employees, approximately 950 people, are working regularly on-site.

The process will include a transition period, with some employees returning sooner than others, depending on the nature of their work, “and this will likely include staggered start dates,” they wrote. Also, there may be times during the spring and summer when staff members are asked to return to campus temporarily “to help with important events or activities.”

The announcement comes amid the growing promise of widespread coronavirus vaccinations, and as the rate of virus transmission within the Dartmouth community remains low.

More information about the transition period for employees returning to on-site work will be shared later this spring or in the early summer, “when we have a better understanding of the impact of vaccinations and the rate of disease transmission,” they wrote.

The overall return will build on the reopening process that Dartmouth has been using for those who are already working on-site.

“We look forward to the time when we can be together on campus once again,” Helble and Mills wrote, in closing. “Thank you for your hard work and perseverance as you continue to support our mission and our community.”

For the latest information on Dartmouth’s response to the pandemic visit the COVID-19 website.