Sacred Heart president dispels ‘rumor’ of canceled in-person classes

Sacred Heart University President John Petillo has notified students that the Fairfield school has no plans to close its campus and conduct classes remotely, blaming incorrect media reports that insisted otherwise.

john petillo sacred heart university — John Petillo. Photo by Phil Hall

In a video posted on his Twitter account, Petillo warned students to ignore reports that insisted the school will pause its in-person classes due to the Covid-19 crisis.

“Please do not believe all the news that is out there,” he said. “It is rumor, and rumor has no basis in reality. We have no plans to go online, we don”™t want it and you don”™t want it.”

Petillo added that “we can fight this together to deliver what most everyone wants to finish the semester the way that we started it: on ground.”

Separately, Sacred Heart announced the addition of two new members to its board of trustees: Pamela Miller, an attorney who is president and CEO of Summit Global Strategies Ltd., and 1998 alumnus Eric Wood, who is deputy athletics director of competitive excellence for University of Central Florida Athletics Association Inc.