LSU faculty members have increased calls for a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for students, and school officials have scheduled a meeting open to the entire faculty next Tuesday to discuss that and other safety concerns.
Faculty members sent two letters to LSU Interim President Tom Galligan and Executive Vice President and Provost Stacia Haynie seeking a requirement that students be vaccinated before returning in the fall. At least 125 faculty members have signed on to the request.
Tulane University announced last week that all of its students will be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. It joined Xavier University of Louisiana and Dillard University as the only colleges in the state to mandate a COVID-19 vaccine.
The UNO Faculty Senate passed a 29-0-3 vote last week on a resolution that strongly recommends that all faculty members, staff, and students at UNO get the vaccine.
The LSU Faculty Senate voted last month 52-1 to call for a vaccine requirement.
Around 380 colleges around the nation are requiring vaccines for next fall, and 179 of them are public schools.
LSU officials have maintained that they could not mandate the vaccines since they have only been approved under emergency use authorizations. Some older LSU faculty members and some with compromised immune systems say they are worried about the health risks of being in rooms for one to three hours without knowing how many students in their classes have been vaccinated.
