July 24, 2020
Dear Faculty and Staff,
It is hard to believe that the start of the fall semester is only a month away. I know that this has not been the summer any of us planned but I want to thank everyone for their dedication to working over the summer to continue to focus on our students in this challenging time. The last several months have been hard on all of us, both personally and professionally. I hope you are finding ways to take care of yourself during this time. I want you to know that I recognize your hard work and appreciate each and every one of you!
I also want you to know that we are carefully monitoring current pandemic trends, locally and beyond, and are fortunate to have a number of IU public health experts at our disposal. While I remain hopeful that our community will continue to do all the right things to stop the spread of the virus, we are fully prepared to modify our plans for fall 2020 should the need arise. As a result, it is imperative that you are prepared to make adjustments in how courses and campus services are delivered should we need to pivot to more remote learning and working. The University Center for Excellence in Teaching (UCET) has a number of resources available to assist faculty including a series of workshops. If needed, we may make a short-term adjustment or a longer-term one, depending on the situation. As we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, trends can change quickly and we must be prepared for any and all possibilities. You can continue to do your part in our community by keeping a safe distance from others, wearing a mask indoors as well as outdoors when you can’t safely distance, and washing/sanitizing your hands often.
Today’s message contains new information about campus events and travel, as well as plans for contact tracing should positive cases arise within our campus community.
Campus Events
The health and safety of attendees and event staff will drive all in-person event decisions. In-person events (both indoor and outdoor) should be minimized whenever possible. Outdoor events are strongly encouraged over indoor events if a virtual event is not feasible. Only mission-critical events will be approved and public health precautions for both indoor and outdoor events must be followed.
All in-person events planned by an IU South Bend department or organization on our main campus or other properties, or at an off-campus venue, must go through a new approval process that starts with requiring approval by the sponsoring event’s supervisor and submission of an event request form. The form for submitting an event request is being finalized and will be shared via the Daily Titan in the coming days. In the meantime, please contact Maureen Muldoon, Special Events Coordinator, at mmuldoon@iusb.edu with any questions. While we are hoping to keep events to a minimum number and also a minimum number of people, larger events are possible with appropriate health and safety planning. Events with over twenty-five participants will require additional approval by an IU committee and me. Additionally, events hosted by external organizations will generally not be permitted on campus.
Travel
Until otherwise noted, only essential travel will be permitted for staff conducting IU South Bend business. “Essential” means necessary to perform core IU responsibilities or necessary for core functions of the university at this point in time. There must also be no effective alternative to travel. While travel to other IU campuses is permitted, other means of conducting IU business, such as teleconferencing, are strongly encouraged.
Essential travel must be approved by your supervisor and either your Dean, Vice Chancellor, or the Chancellor (depending on your reporting structure), using the Travel Approval Form. All travelers must follow local restrictions and CDC travel guidance and if approved, travel arrangements must be made through Travel Management Services designated agencies. You can read more about current travel policies here.
Contact Tracing
We know that you have questions about how positive cases of COVID-19 will be managed on campus. While we cannot publicly reveal information about positive cases to protect people’s privacy, persons that have been identified as close contacts of an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 will be contacted and advised of actions to take. If a location on campus is identified during the contact tracing that requires advanced cleaning, signage will be posted and relevant individuals notified. As a reminder, it is critical that you monitor your health. If you feel ill it’s important that you stay home, contact your health care provider, and help stop the spread. As a reminder IU COVID Health Services provides access to screening and IU testing resources.
Looking Ahead
We know that there are still questions about visitors to campus and what enforcement of health and safety requirements will look like in practice. These policies are in the process of being finalized and will be shared in the coming days.
As a reminder FAQs are continuously being updated on Fall 2020 IU and Fall 2020 IU South Bend and you can submit a question at any time. You can also read my messages to students here. My message to students last week shared important information about registration and course delivery, as well as campus housing. I have also been communicating with parents and families, as well as alumni and friends of IU South Bend. We have also launched a weekly virtual Q&A series for students and their families and are excited about the opportunity to meet them and answer their questions as they consider IU South Bend for their education. Thanks to the Enrollment Management team and Office of Communications and Marketing for their efforts!
At next week’s Coffee with the Chancellor I will spend just a few minutes at the beginning with some updates then will dedicate the remaining time to answering your questions. As always, please bring good news to share. Even in this difficult time, I know there are many great things happening! Virtual Coffee with the Chancellor will be held on Wednesday, July 29th at 3:30pm. A link can be found at Coffee with the Chancellor by 2:30pm the day of the event.
I hope you all are staying healthy and well. I look forward to seeing you all next week!