Clark State College has been invited by the White House and the U.S. Department of Education to join the COVID-19 College Challenge launched on Wednesday, June 2.
“The health and safety of our students, employees and community members are critical to restarting the economy and closing workforce gaps, and anything Clark State can do to play a part in helping these efforts, whether locally, regionally, or nationally, we will,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “The vaccine is an important tool in our toolboxes to getting back together safely in the classroom, in the workplace, and in our leisure activities.”
Blondin also said Clark State trains many frontline healthcare workers, and the College’s healthcare faculty and students have been instrumental in helping deliver the vaccine to local communities.
The COVID-19 vaccinations were administered by students enrolled in the Practical Nursing and Registered Nursing programs at Clark State locations in Springfield, Beavercreek, and Xenia.
“I think this is a win and shows how our programs are getting our students real world experience,” said Kyle Hall, chairman of the Clark State Board of Trustees and president of the Hall Company.
The College Vaccine Campus Challenge is part of the national vaccine “Month of Action” initiative taking place from June 4 to July 4.
Throughout the month, national organizations, local government leaders, community-based and faith-based partners, businesses, employers, social media influencers, celebrities, athletes, colleges, young people, and thousands of volunteers across the nation will mobilize to make it even easier to get vaccinated and to empower their communities to get vaccinated.
Clark State and other participating colleges and universities have committed to taking three key actions to help get their campus communities vaccinated:
- Engage every student, faculty, and staff member. Make sure every member of the campus community knows they are eligible for a vaccine and has the resources to find one.
- Organize the college community. Lead the way by identifying champions for vaccine efforts across campus and implementing a plan to get as many members of your college community vaccinated as possible.
- Deliver vaccine access for all. Meet the community where it is: bring vaccines on-site, and make it easy for students, staff, and faculty to get vaccinated sites nearby them this summer.
In addition to Clark State being selected for the College Vaccine Campus Challenge, President Blondin has also been appointed to represent the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) as a member of the Campus Covid-19 Vaccine (CoVAC) Initiative Steering Committee.
The CoVAC Initiative aims to build vaccine confidence, increase vaccination visibility, and combat vaccine misinformation in college campus communities, including students, staff, and faculty. The Steering Committee is composed of over 30 members from the higher education community as well as public health partners outside of higher education.
“Clark State has demonstrated time and time again its commitment to the health, safety, and wellness of the communities we serve, and we want to provide access to the COVID vaccine for students, employees and community members as part of this commitment,” said Blondin. “We have been fortunate to have a strong vaccination effort in Clark County with such leader-partners as the Clark County Health Department and Rocking Horse Community Health Center, and Clark State wishes to be complementary in these efforts.”