SUNY Oneonta President Steps Down After More Than 700 Students Test Positive For COVID-19

The president of a New York University has resigned amid an outbreak of COVID-19 at the school. More than 700 students have tested positive since the semester began.

Dr. Barbara Jean Morris resigned from her position as president of the State University of New York at Oneonta,  a spokesperson for the school told CNN.

In a statement on Thursday, Chancellor Jim Malatras announced new acting president Dennis Craig and said that Dr. Morris left to “pursue other opportunities.”

Dennis Craig was the interim president of SUNY Purchase, a school that only saw three positive tests since the beginning of the semester.

Since opening residence halls on August 17, 712 students have tested positive for COVID-19. Oneonta makes up more than half of all positive tests across the SUNY system.

Students were not tested upon arrival, and they were not required to quarantine. By late August, the school had switched to online learning after seeing an increase in positive COVID-19 tests.

“The Covid spike uptick was at the beginning of September. I just want to clarify her resignation did not come in the middle of that surge,” Jim Urso, a spokesman for SUNY, told CNN.

“She did not resign in the midst of this crisis. We’re conducting a review on what happened. It’s not like she resigned in the middle of the night while students were testing positive by the dozens.”