June 16, 2020
Colleagues,
There are an increasing number of IU resources available to everyone in our community as we plan for the fall. As mentioned in my message yesterday, the best way to access them is a new website, , which includes links to available resources on a whole range of subjects, including phased return, the academic calendar, personal precautions, travel, cleaning protocols, and more. The most comprehensive guide, available at fall2020.iu.edu, is Return to Campus: A Guide for Departments, which includes information on a great many topics, including the phased reopening of all campuses.
In addition, there will be two webinars this week. The first will be on Risk Mitigation: Testing, Tracing, Isolation, and Resurgence Planning, at noon on Wednesday, June 17. The second will be on Risk Mitigation in Facilities and the Classroom on Thursday, June 18, at 11 a.m. Messages inviting you to these webinars will come to you directly. They will also be recorded for future viewing, and available at fall2020.iu.edu.
The overarching theme of reopening, in keeping with the Restart Committee report, is to keep the density of the on-campus population low, even as we resume our teaching, research, and clinical missions. This will require balancing individuals’ needs and preferences, with the need of our campus to resume an academic program that will safely accommodate the desire of an overwhelming number of students for in-person educational experiences.
What this means for you is that, if it is possible to continue to do all or some of your work remotely, we would like you to do that, in consultation with your department chairs, deans, or supervisors. In fact, supervisors (for staff) and department chairs and associate deans/deans (for faculty) are in ongoing individual conversations to balance keeping the density low and allowing for things that must be done on campus when we return to in-person instruction this fall. I want to stress that these individual conversations are the primary mechanism for staff and faculty to work through their planning for fall, in concert with the IU guidance and our campus Restart Working Group recommendations.
In addition, you will be asked to electronically sign a Community Responsibility Acknowledgement. As I hope that everyone understands by now, a pandemic of a highly infectious disease like COVID-19 demands a community response. The actions we take, or fail to take, affect others as much as ourselves, and the action or inaction of others affects us. COVID-19 truly tests our commitment to each other and to our community. You can access the Community Responsibility Acknowledgement .
Because we cannot weather the COVID-19 pandemic by thinking and acting only for ourselves, the Community Responsibility Acknowledgement represents your agreement that you will take the measures that are necessary for us to keep each other safe, such as wearing a cloth face covering in buildings or outside when social distancing is not possible; following the CDC guidelines on handwashing; monitoring your health and staying away from campus if you are sick; and other public health measures. All students will be required to sign a similar acknowledgement.
The Community Responsibility Acknowledgement includes a recognition that the university is subject to requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide reasonable accommodations for those with a documented disability in order for them to perform essential functions. This is done using a process that is well-established . I want to stress that, while the university is required to let you know the conditions for which ADA accommodations with respect to COVID-19 will be made, and while the university will follow its usual processes, this is not the primary mechanism for discussing your work this fall. That is because the ADA does not include many of the considerations that we will work through individually, such as care responsibilities for children or family members in your household who are medically fragile, or other life situations that might play a role in your work this fall. Individual conversations with supervisors and department chairs will continue to be the primary mechanism for those determinations.
Thank you again for all the work you are doing to ensure a safe working and learning environment, and for remaining committed to our students and our mission. It will take all of us continuing to work together to stay healthy and have a great Fall 2020 semester.