Texas A&M System Leaders Ask Students to Take a COVID Test before Thanksgiving Dinner

System officials strive for healthier period between semesters

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The top official at The Texas A&M University System has a plan to minimize the spread of COVID-19 as students head home for the holidays.

Chancellor John Sharp is asking the presidents of the System’s 11 universities to encourage students to voluntarily get tested for COVID-19 before they leave campus for home. Chancellor Sharp said he wants to make sure the families and communities of the System’s more than 150,000 students feel safe and can avoid any unnecessary exposure to the coronavirus that has seen a spike in cases across the country.

“The greatest gift a student can give his or her family – including parents and grandparents – during this holiday season is the gift of a negative COVID test,” Chancellor Sharp said. “Let’s do all we can to stop this pandemic and get back to life as we knew it. Thanks to everyone who chooses to take a test before heading home.”

For students’ convenience, The Texas A&M System and the Texas Division of Emergency Management will increase the number of testing sites on System campuses in the days before Thanksgiving. Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University already have kiosks available to students, faculty and staff for free COVID-19 tests. And now, Chancellor Sharp has asked the Texas Division of Emergency Management, which is part of the Texas A&M System, to help the System get testing vans and tents to all of campuses before the holiday.

“As a parent and grandparent, I can imagine the peace of mind that a negative COVID-19 test can bring to the Thanksgiving table,” Chancellor Sharp said.

About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation with a budget of $6.3 billion. The System is a statewide network of 11 universities; a comprehensive health science center; eight state agencies, including the Texas Division of Emergency Management; and the RELLIS Campus. The Texas A&M System educates more than 151,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $1 billion in FY 2019 and helped drive the state’s economy.

Contact: Tim Eaton
Executive Director, Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6018
teaton@tamus.edu