Campus building closures will begin at the end of the workday Dec. 17

December 17, 2021

McMaster University’s main campus is closing for the winter holiday break, with the majority of buildings being locked beginning at the end of the workday Friday, December 17, 2021.   

Offices, laboratories, and other spaces with magnetic locks will be locked after this time. Only those with access cards will be able to enter areas with magnetic locks. These buildings will re-open on Monday, January 17, 2022. 

Exceptions:

  • The Peter George Centre for Living and Learning (PGCLL), Michael Degroote Centre for Learning (MDC)L and T13, which have dedicated rooms in them for students to study, will be locked beginning December 22, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. and re-open on January 10, 2022.  
  • Mills Memorial Library will close on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. Mills Learning Commons will close at 10 p.m. on Dec. 22 and reopen on Jan. 10 at 8 a.m. H.G. Thode Library will close on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. and reopen on Jan. 17 at 8 a.m. A full list of hours can be found on the McMaster University Library website. 
     
  • McMaster’s Student Symptomatic COVID-19 Testing Centre  on campus will be closed starting at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 23. The centre will reopen on Monday, January 3, 2022.
     
  • Athletics & Recreation programming beyond Sunday, December 19 will be cancelled until further notice. An update detailing modified hours until the time of closure can be found on the Athletics & Recreation website.
     

Residences 

Residence students are expected to leave their residence space by 12:00 p.m. noon the day after their last exam. All residence buildings, except for those accommodating December Stay students, will be closed as of end of day Thursday, December 23.   

Students will be welcomed back to residence on January 14 instead of January 7.  Students, including international students, should monitor their email for instructions for updating their return to residence time slots. 

Before Leaving

Prior to leaving, faculty and staff are reminded to please to unplug any unnecessary equipment, turn off lights, close off fume hood sashes and water taps in labs to help with campus sustainability efforts. 

 

During the closure period, you can expect: 

  • Snow clearing will be done on an as-needed basis to ensure emergency vehicles can access campus. There will not be regularly scheduled clearing of roadways, walkways and parking areas so please take extra caution if you are driving or walking on campus. 
  • Temperatures in office, classrooms and general areas will be maintained at 15C. Temperatures in research labs will be maintained at 18C. Other areas such as occupied residences and athletic facilities will be maintained as normal. If you have questions about these settings, please connect with Facility Services. 
  • All food, service centres, residence life, custodial and maintenance services are suspended. 
  • Housing and Conference Services will have a limited number of staff on campus providing support to students who have pre-arranged December Stay agreements. 
  • Security will be on duty throughout the closure period and officers will be on campus 
  • Individual requests to open rooms and/or buildings will not be approved. Any exception must have been pre-authorized prior to the closure