Update on Resumption of In-Person Activity and Guide

 

To: Faculty, Other Academic Appointees, and Staff

From: Ka Yee C. Lee, Provost, and Katie Callow-Wright, Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff

Subject: Update on Resumption of In-Person Activity and Guide

Date: June 12, 2020

 

As was shared on June 3 in a message on campus-wide planning and as many of you heard in yesterday’s Town Hall (a recording of which is available here (expired link removed)), the University is carefully preparing for the gradual resumption of in-person work and other activities, starting next week. We want to update you on current plans and share important health and safety guidance for the return to campus.

 

Until there is a vaccine or an effective treatment for COVID-19, some portion of the University community will need to continue to stay home and work remotely. Employees in roles for which activities must be conducted in person to support research, education, and other University essential functions will begin returning to campus starting June 15. Deans and Officers have worked closely with their leadership teams and with return-to-campus planning leaders to identify roles that will return to campus in this phase and ensure their unit’s approach and facilities meet the University’s health and safety protocols. Managers of employees who will resume in-person activities in this phase will reach out to them in the coming days with additional guidance, including directions for the training and health attestation that must be completed before returning to campus.

 

Our primary objective as we increase in-person activity is protecting the health of our campus community. UChicago Medicine and public health guidelines from government agencies have guided the University’s approach. With that guidance as well as input from leaders across campus, our Workplace Planning Group developed an “Guide to Resuming In-Person Activities” to provide protocols on health and safety. In it you will find details about face coverings, social distancing, self-monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms, and more.

 

For all other employees, in keeping with our goal to limit the spread of COVID-19, any work or other activities that can be done remotely should continue to be conducted remotely. Starting around mid-July, we will begin to gradually increase the number of employees on campus in preparation for the new academic year. We will share updates as we get closer to planning for that phase of activity.

 

The pandemic can change rapidly, and on-campus procedures may evolve accordingly. Please refer to goforward.uchicago.edu for updates to the employee guide and other new information.

 

If you have questions not addressed in this guide or on goforward.uchicago.edu, please contact your manager or email coronavirusinfo@uchicago.edu.

 

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the University and each other. Our success in the coming weeks and the 2020-21 academic year is dependent on building a culture of personal responsibility and trust across our entire community, in a campus environment that will be very different than we have experienced it in the past. We welcome your ideas on how we can achieve this, and how we can continue to enhance our planning. Please email COVIDstaffup@uchicago.edu to share your input.

 

We know you will continue to rise to these challenges and look forward to sharing another update again soon.