WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Nothing beats the campus experience at Purdue University, not even the coronavirus. That’s what officials at the Indiana university are hoping anyway, with President Mitch Daniels floating plans to reopen campus for in-person classes in the fall while saying the COVID-19 virus “poses close to zero lethal threat” to young people.

Purdue was among the first wave of colleges to announce a shift from in-person classes in early March, leaving students, faculty and staff to adapt quickly to an online setting by transitioning course material and operating online video platforms like Zoom for classes and meetings.

Now, as some states move to reopen nonessential businesses and boost the economy, Purdue and Daniels are at the forefront of efforts to put students back on campus for the fall.
“I can tell you for the moment, there is strong, strong interest for a Purdue education for this fall,” Daniels told the university Senate on April 20. “We have every intention of being on campus this fall. We are sober about the challenges that will bring. We believe in the value of the on-campus experience, and we’re determined, if we’re permitted to do so by the public authorities and medical circumstances. If at all possible, we intend to be open and operating.”