Dear UConn Community,

For the past several months, many of us have had to focus our energy and attention on adapting to the challenges posed by COVID-19. Today, as we anticipate the results of the presidential election, many of us again find our attention focused to just the day ahead.

While 2020 has in many ways necessitated that we prioritize the short term, as a university community we also must consider where we are headed for the long term. A big step toward charting that direction is launching our strategic planning process. In a normal year, we would likely not choose to announce the start of this process on Election Day. But 2020 is unlike any year we’ve ever seen.

A strategic planning process launched amid an unprecedented year like 2020 would ring hollow without the context of this year’s events. Our strategic planning process must consider our place as a public research university in the full context of our times, which includes a pandemic, racial and social injustices, and environmental impacts. So in some ways, it is fitting to launch our planning process in the context of a consequential election.

We are launching the start of our planning process with you. We invite you to join us in visioning activities over the next few weeks, where we will share our initial directions for strategic planning and gather your feedback on what direction you envision for UConn over the next several years.

We are offering a few different options to participate in these visioning activities: through university-wide events, through your own teams or organizations, or individually.

The university-wide visioning events will include a State of the University presentation from President Katsouleas and an overview of the strategic planning process from Provost Lejuez. They will also include breakout sessions made up of randomly assigned groups of each event’s faculty, staff, and student attendees to engage in discussion about shared vision and values for the UConn of the Future.

We have made the following dates and times available for university-wide visioning events:

• Friday, Nov. 13 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 19 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 4 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

You may also choose to participate in strategic plan visioning activities within your own teams or organizations, or individually. We will record the presentations from the university-wide events and can provide the same visioning activity materials for those who elect the team or individual option.

If you are interested in participating in visioning activities, we ask that you let us know through our RSVP form by clicking here. Please note that we are also seeking faculty and staff facilitators for the university-wide events, for which you’ll be able to sign up in the RSVP form.

These events will set the stage for our creation of a steering committee and working groups from our community, who will join our planning team for the start of the spring semester. If you are interested in engaging in specific ways on this plan, you may let us know via provost@uconn.edu.

We look forward to beginning these important conversations with you.

Sincerely,
Tom and Carl

Tom Katsouleas
President

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear UConn Community,

Our University is committed to an environment that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Recent reports of a series of anti-Semitic incidents on our Storrs campus undermine that goal. We denounce in the strongest terms acts of violence, hate, and intimidation aimed at members of our Jewish community.

These recent reports were all acts of physical damage to property, including swastika graffiti. These are undeniable symbols of antisemitism that elicit painful reminders of the Holocaust among our Jewish students, faculty, and staff. These acts and other discriminatory acts this semester are deeply upsetting and leave a scar on members of our community whose beliefs or identities are targeted. No student or employee should be subjected to harassment based on their religious beliefs, nor their race, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, national origin, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

We rely on each member of our community to help us foster an environment that is welcoming and safe for all of us. Our University policies set forth expectations of acceptable and unacceptable behavior, which are outlined in our policy against harassment, discrimination, and related interpersonal violence. Violations can result in discipline up to and including separation from the University.

Another important measure anyone at UConn can take is to report bias incidents at our new site, inform.uconn.edu. We created this site to make it easier for any employee or student at UConn to submit a report and find additional resources. Your reports also help University leaders identify potential problem areas, giving us the opportunity to address issues more proactively.

The recent acts of anti-Semitism happened in South Campus and were investigated using our bias response protocol with a focus on the residential community where the acts of hatred took place. After each incident the Residential Life staff reached out to the impacted parties to offer support and provided messages to the community, which are posted on the Dean of Students Office’s website.

UConn staff are actively engaged in conversations with the members of the Hillel community to plan an event to be held the week of Nov. 9 to address these concerns and work toward healing. Details of the upcoming event including date and time will be available next week, posted in the Daily Digest. These acts of hatred have no home on our campus and we will continue to work to support the members of our community, particularly UConn Huskies of the Jewish faith who have been directly impacted.

Unfortunately, we have no shortage of events that demonstrate the destruction that can result from religious intolerance, from as nearby as the deadly shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh to recent religiously motivated attacks in Paris. As a public research university, UConn holds a responsibility to lead the way in promoting mutual understanding and repudiating intolerance.

Sincerely,

Tom Katsouleas
President

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Franklin Tuitt
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer

Dear UConn Faculty, Staff, and Students:

Election Day is approaching next week, Tuesday, Nov. 3. As this date approaches, we want to reaffirm our values as a public institution.

Universities provide immense public service when they marshal their academic and research capabilities to illuminate and evaluate society’s pivotal moments. Presidential elections are exactly such times. They can provide an opportunity to learn and grow as an academic community through conversation and frank but respectful exploration of others’ viewpoints. They can also elicit strong emotions as we each consider the consequential decisions that come with our votes.

UConn does not endorse or oppose particular candidates or political parties, nor does it take an institutional stance on contents of campaign platforms. At the same time, we consider it part of our responsibility as a public institution to facilitate civic engagement, thoughtful dialogue, and inclusive participation in our community and society at large.

We encourage you to engage with our voting information resource online, https://kindness.studentaffairs.uconn.edu/voting-information/, where you will find information on how to cast your vote as well as upcoming events and conversations regarding this year’s election.

One of the series you will find at this site is called “Now What?”, hosted by the Humanities Institute and featuring several small dialogues hosted by faculty and staff about working past the election and seeing through to the future. You will also find a series of programs hosted by UConn’s cultural centers designed to serve as virtual healing spaces. Both of these series speak to UConn’s role as a facilitator of reflection and conversation regarding this pivotal moment in our society. They also exemplify the diversity of constituencies represented among our students, faculty, and staff.

As an institution that values diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), we will never accept or condone acts of bias, bigotry and other forms of discrimination, which political tensions can inflame. Those behaviors have no place at UConn and we will take actions to protect the well-being of our community, such as continuing our DEI training amid threats to cut federal funding for doing so, or our advocacy this summer against restrictions for international students.

UConn students, faculty and staff, and alumni have been bold and dynamic participants through the years as Americans have grappled with cultural, regional and economic divisions, and ways in which to find common ground and move forward toward the next century. We hope these resources provide valuable support and guidance at this very important and impactful time in our nation’s history.

Sincerely,
Tom and Carl

Tom Katsouleas
President

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear UConn Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students:

Over the past few weeks, UConn administrators in consultation with the University Senate have made and communicated several decisions about the spring semester. We shared a summary of many of those details in a message sent on Oct. 9, and reviewed the details and answered additional questions during our Academic Town Hall on Oct. 16.

We recorded the town hall for those who could not attend. In addition to about an hour of Q&A based on attendee questions, the town hall includes a PowerPoint presentation that provides additional detail on the spring semester. You can find that recording and the PowerPoint slides by clicking here. You can also find the Oct. 9 message by clicking here.

I also want to take this opportunity to share a few updates below on timely topics, some of which we also reviewed during the town hall.

Best practices with webcams during class
Given the high volume of instruction taking place virtually, several offices and teams across the University report that they are responding to more inquiries regarding privacy and authentication with video conferencing technology. Most frequently, the questions are focused on whether students must have their cameras on at all times during classes or whether they can be required to remove their masks for the duration of an exam. Please consider the following guidelines:

• Instructors can encourage webcams to be turned on, but also remember that students are often learning in environments that limit their control over the distractions and privacy in their surroundings – such as spaces shared with families and roommates, or in public spaces to access Wi-Fi. Please allow students flexibility in webcam usage to minimize those distractions or to free up their computer’s bandwidth.
• Students’ learning environments also pose complications for exam authentication. Because students are using public spaces in many instances to attend virtual classes, removing their masks for more than a few seconds at a time beyond what is needed for facial recognition and identity verification is not feasible given current public health measures. Please be flexible with students on requirements for removing masks during virtual exams or other instructional settings. As a further reminder, students should also not be asked to remove masks during in-person courses.

Technology loans for students
ITS maintains a modest pool of devices that are available to students for participation in their online courses. Students may borrow an iPad for the semester. Students who require more computing power (e.g., to access and run specific software), can borrow a laptop for up to one week, although extensions are permitted where justified and if the equipment is available. Students can initiate a loan through ITS by submitting a general help support request at techsupport.uconn.edu.

Fee reduction update
While most of our plans remain the same as what we shared on Oct. 9, I did provide an update during the town hall regarding the fee reduction for fully online experiences that involves a one-to-one undergraduate-faculty interaction (e.g., independent study, research). Specifically, we have identified a way in registration to designate these types of courses as either in-person or online (WW). The online designation requires the experience take place fully online and requires instructor permission (see the town hall slides for more details). The registrar is currently making contact with individual departments to create these designations in PeopleSoft for the registration process.

Next steps
Finals and Thanksgiving Break are just around the corner. As those events inch closer, we are receiving more questions about how those may look different this year. We are working through questions and plan to send updates to our community soon on each.

As always, I am inspired by the resolve and care our community has demonstrated over the last many months. I am deeply appreciative of all that you do.

Sincerely,
Carl

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

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Updates for the Academic Community

 

Final exam opt-out
Instructors who are not delivering a final exam in fall 2020 are asked to complete the Final Exam Opt-Out Form. Asynchronous courses have already been registered; this applies to all other modalities. Click here to access the form and additional information.

Visiting International Scholars for Spring 2021
The University has decided to extend its fall 2020 policy on visiting scholars through the spring 2021 semester. Under this policy, the University will refrain from hosting new visiting scholars for gratis appointment positions through the end of the spring term. We will continue to host visiting scholars who will come to the University as a paid employee if they are able to arrive and will perform their duties in person. This policy recognizes the University’s effort to reduce density on campus and the challenges that a new visiting scholar could encounter if moving from another country during a global health crisis, when in-person University resources may not be sufficient to support their transition. ISSS will be reaching out to all departments who have pending J-1 visa sponsorship requests who may be affected by this policy extension.

University Teaching Awards
Nominations are now open for the 2021 Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning University Teaching Awards. Each dean, department head, and regional campus director can nominate four (4) individuals – one nominee per each of the four award categories. Nominations are due by Friday, Nov. 13. Click here to access the form and more details.

Board of Trustees Distinguished Professorships
We are seeking nominations for this honor to recognize UConn faculty who excel in research, teaching, and service. As a reminder, we have revised our nomination process this year into two phases to broaden the diversity of nominees as well as to redistribute the effort involved in the nomination process. The deadline for nomination materials in the first phase is Friday, Nov. 25. More information and criteria for selection are available on the Provost’s Office website at this link. If you have questions about submitting materials, please reach out to amanda.pitts@uconn.edu.

Fall Food Drive
UConn Community Outreach is hosting a food drive on the Storrs campus now through Nov. 5. The most-needed items include canned vegetables, spaghetti sauce, pasta, cereals, peanut butter, canned fruits, toilet paper, paper towels, and paper cups and plates. Donations can be dropped off on the Storrs campus at the Student Union, Family Studies Building 117, Wilbur Cross 203, and Bousfield 105. For additional information, contact student coordinator Fiona Pare at uconn.co.initiatives@gmail.com.

On Oct. 16, President Katsouleas, Provost Lejuez and other University leaders discussed UConn’s reopening plans for the fall semester. The purpose of this session was to update the UConn community on the university’s academic progress in the fall semester, as well as decisions and plans for the spring.

PDF of presentation slides from Provost Lejuez

Full video of town hall via UConn’s YouTube channel

Dear UConn Community:

We have reached the point where our community must make decisions about many aspects of the spring semester. Because we cannot know right now what the COVID-19 conditions will be in the spring, our best approach is to model our decisions for the next semester on what we have done for the fall. With that in mind, student, faculty, and staff leaders have been hard at work reviewing plans and making decisions for how we will proceed with the spring semester. We have also been in frequent contact with local and state officials, and the Connecticut Department of Public Health is in full support of our plans.

Working together as a community we have made a number of decisions recently, which I am pleased to share here as a resource.

Academic Calendar
Based on the decisions of the University Senate, we shared earlier this week that the spring semester start and end dates will remain the same, and that spring break would move to April 11-17, 2021. The University Senate also approved two reading days before final exams. Click here to see the full details on calendar changes posted to the Provost’s Office website.

Instructional Modality and Quarantine Periods
With decisions made on the calendar, we next had to decide how to balance a required quarantine for residential students and re-entry student testing at the start of the semester and the return to classes. We heard from students that the two-week quarantine before the start of fall classes was challenging for a variety of reasons, so our decision for the spring has also taken that into account. Specifically, for spring:

• For the start of the spring semester, we will conduct the first two weeks of all classes remotely so residential students can quarantine at the same time as spring courses start.
• Following spring break, residential students will return home and the last two weeks of classes, as well as exams, will be conducted remotely for all students.

Both measures are designed for the well-being of our community. We expect that many of our students, faculty, and staff will be traveling back from numerous locations after the winter break and after spring break; remote learning during those times will help minimize potential contact. Additionally, as Thanksgiving provided in the fall, spring break will provide an opportunity for a reset for our students, faculty, and staff before entering the home stretch of the semester. We believe that instructors should use the format that they think will best support learning and student engagement during these two periods but, based on fall selections, it seems likely that many who are teaching in-person will utilize a distance learning synchronous format (DL).

Pass/Fail
The Senate made a temporary change in the by-laws for this academic year affecting pass/fail for undergraduates. The change extends the deadlines to add or remove courses as pass/fail and also extends pass/fail availability to undergraduates with fewer than 26 credits and undergraduates on scholastic probation. The Graduate Faculty Council has jurisdiction over academic regulations affecting graduate students, and the existing bylaws apply. Pass/fail is not available to graduate students. Click here for more details on the Provost’s Office website.

Course Registration for Spring
Registration will follow the planned schedule, starting on Oct. 26 and ending on Nov. 11 for undergraduates.

With considerable effort from our schools and colleges in partnership with the Registrar’s Office, the modality for each course will be listed at the time of registration. It is also notable that the detail and description of the modality options shared with instructors last month has been sharpened based on feedback from fall semester courses. These options seek to provide more clarity to both instructors and students on the expectations of course meeting times and format, and the proportion of remote learning to in-person learning. Click here to see the full listing of spring 2021 modality definitions on the Provost’s Office website.

Fee Reduction
We will continue to offer the fee reduction to help meet two goals: 1) de-densifying campuses; and 2) opening up opportunities for in-person courses for students in residential housing.

• A student may receive the fee reduction if they are not living on campus and they have no in-person courses.
  • Research and independent study courses will be labeled as in person no matter where they take place. Students will not be eligible for the fee reduction if they are enrolled in these courses.
  • Instructors cannot change the modality listing for individual students to make them eligible for the fee reduction.

 Housing
Residential Life shared an update last week that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will not allow the residential areas to be open at full capacity as hoped for spring. As such, we will need to continue under a similar model of around 50% occupancy. All residential students at Storrs and Stamford will have to participate in re-entry testing and a two-week residential quarantine. Students currently living on campus for the fall who wish to return for the spring semester will have the option to remain in their same assignment and keep their belongings in that assignment over winter recess. Click here for more information on the Residential Life website.

Similar to the current semester, the cost of housing and dining will remain the same as the previous academic year. In the unlikely case that a positive change in the landscape of the virus results in our being able to remain on campus after spring break and through exams, no additional charges will be added to housing and dining costs.  Moreover, similar to this fall semester and last spring, Residential Life will work with students who have no viable housing options for the remainder of the spring semester after the break.

If we are unable to continue campus housing up to spring break, pro-rated housing and dining refunds will be provided to students and will follow the University refund calendar.

Academic Town Hall and Future Announcements
We believe in the decisions that have been made about our spring semester over the past few weeks and it is important that we do our best to communicate the details and the rationale for these decisions. We hope this communication has value in that regard.

To continue the conversation, the University is hosting a town hall focused on academics for faculty, staff, and instructors next week, Friday Oct. 16 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. The town hall will include a short presentation of key information and will then allow for questions. Click here for more information on how to participate in the town hall and to submit questions. Members of our community may send questions in advance by noon on Oct. 14.

While this message provides answers to many important questions for the spring, there are several other decisions that require more time, including how the University will undertake graduation. We will make these decisions in a collaborative and judicious manner, and as soon as we are able.

The last several months have been difficult for each of us in different ways; however, in that time I have also seen countless examples of our community working together and looking out for each other. I am proud to be a part of UConn Nation alongside each of you as we navigate unprecedented challenges.

Sincerely,
Carl

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear UConn Community:

COVID-19 and the return to the UConn learning experience have presented our university with unprecedented challenges. We write today to celebrate our ability to maintain our core values, give you more information about the presence of COVID on our campuses, and indicate our path forward.

COVID-19 at UConn

We have learned a great deal over the past several weeks about balancing community well-being and educational progress in the midst of COVID-19. Together, we have used our strength as a research university to solve a complex problem and reopen UConn safely. We are grateful to the partnerships that have emerged throughout our campuses, administration, student and campus services, UConn Health, and the academic schools and colleges.

Our current infection rate is around 1%. This is a remarkable accomplishment. To date, our spread among students is because of small interactions such as card games, common meals, and other informal interactions. For all of us, our risk of spread is avoidable through our own individual actions, as expressed in the UConn Promise. This includes monitoring your health, participating in random surveillance testing, following guidelines for mask wearing, hand washing, and physical distancing, and heeding medical guidance provided by your primary medical provider. These are all especially important as we head into colder weather and spend more time indoors.

While we are hardly declaring victory, it is important to acknowledge the hard work of our community to promote safety in maintaining a largely safe and healthy environment on our campuses.

UConn Research and Innovation

As we planned for reopening this fall semester, we benefitted from workgroups that were enriched by the research talents of many partners, including InCHIP, Institute for Systems Genomics, MARS, CLEAR, and our epidemiology expertise in UConn Health.

We encourage you to learn more about these intersections of research and practice through upcoming events. InCHIP is hosting a series of panels, detailed on their website. The Provost’s Office is also hosting a research forum that features panelists involved in the innovative work in wastewater testing and pooled sampling on the Storrs campus, managed collaboratively among MARS, Institute for Systems Genomics, CLEAR, and Student Health and Wellness. This forum is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 5 to 6 p.m. More information is available on the Provost’s Office website. We welcome suggestions for future panels via provost@uconn.edu.

The Path Forward

Plans are underway for the spring term, which we are approaching with optimism and humility, working closely with many organizations, including the Senate Executive Committee, AAUP, UCPEA, and USG. We expect to make key decisions prior to the opening of registration in late October building on what we have learned from the fall semester.

Spring will likely be quite similar to the fall with continued decreased residential occupancy (currently around 5,000 students at Storrs) and continued medical due diligence through testing and surveillance. Students received a message today with more details on housing availability, including the option to retain their housing assignment from fall to spring.

Student events and activities continue to be guided by activities and program information that is available here. We have learned that building safe and connected campuses is enhanced by small in-person and virtual activities, examples of which appear on the uKindness site. We welcome all campuses and departments to submit events and activities to uKindness.

We are grateful to students, including leadership in USG and GSS who have shared thoughts on maintaining a meaningful connection between instructors and students in the spring, and many other critical university actions.

Our physical and mental health are deeply entwined and many are experiencing stress during this time. Students are reminded and encouraged to utilize SHaW-Mental Health resources. Faculty and staff are reminded of the support provided through the Employee Assistance Program.

Thank you, UConn, for your combined effort in keeping us safe and allowing us to return to in-person learning and research. Thanks to all of you, we are in this for the long haul.

Sincerely,

Carl and Elly

 

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Eleanor JB Daugherty
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

Communications » Provost’s Messages and Presentations

Dear UConn Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students:

As we prepared for this fall semester, instructional needs and changes inevitably dominated our discussions. Faculty, graduate assistants and post-docs put in countless hours to prepare their course materials and plans for engaging with students. Alongside them, but often out of the spotlight, were the herculean efforts of countless staff that enabled our fall planning and implementation.

Staff are the unsung heroes of our COVID operations. They managed classroom rearrangements, created and placed directional signage, enhanced cleaning, processed modality changes and course registration, provided HR and benefits support, maintained and recalibrated lab and Library operations, distributed internal and external community communications, provided rapid IT support, advised and supported thousands of students, modified housing and dining operations, and coordinated COVID testing for all in our community. As long as that list is, it is incomplete. All the while, staff have also maintained regular operations.

Our work and home lives have changed drastically in the past six months, but as our staff support us all we want to be sure we support each other, wherever you look at the University – from our peers and colleagues to University leadership.

To support staff, the Provost’s Office and Human Resources are partnering to expand the Admin Forum. This longstanding, popular program provides opportunity for staff colleagues to network, hear directly from university leadership, and learn and grow professionally. The Admin Forum attracts staff attendees from across the university.  Our new partnership broadens our team and expands access to all staff at our Storrs and regional campuses.

We invite staff to save the date for the first forum of the 2020-21 academic year on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The forum will include a brief town hall with university leaders, followed by breakout sessions for staff to meet and network in an informal, virtual setting. An invitation with further details will be sent to staff next week.

A further measure to support staff is the recently announced hire of Michael Bradford as Vice Provost for Faculty, Staff, and Student Development. Michael will oversee actualizing the potential of the individuals we serve at UConn. In this role, Michael and Provost’s Office staff will be close partners with Human Resources on opportunities to support staff across the university.

We are deeply grateful to UConn staff. Our university’s success is not possible without your talents, your professionalism, and your dedication to your work.

Sincerely,
Carl and Chris

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Christopher Delello
Chief Human Resources Officer

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Updates for the Academic Community

 

U.S. Anti-Black Racism course open to faculty, staff, and graduate students
The university’s U.S. Anti-Black Racism course is available at no cost to UConn faculty, staff, and graduate students. The course has nine modules and is interdisciplinary, taught by faculty across the university. Each week will require about five hours of student learning. Registration information is available on this page, provost.uconn.edu/us-anti-black-racism-course.

Textbook orders for spring semester
Please consider placing your orders for spring semester courses as soon as possible through Barnes & Noble. We need to allow extra time for materials to arrive to the bookstore and to students, due to COVID delays and barriers. Students experienced delays in receiving materials in the fall semester due to similar delays and obstacles, including the start-of-semester quarantine.

Student Health and Wellness-Mental Health Services
If you have students who want to see a mental health professional, SHAW-Mental Health offers in-person, online or phone appointments for any enrolled students at the university. The office has moved primarily to same day consultation appointments for students reaching out for support to help assess needs. SHAW-Mental Health will continue to be available for crisis assessment 24/7 through the end of the semester. To schedule an appointment, students should call the office at 860-486-4705. For more information, please visit counseling.uconn.edu.

Upgraded faculty consulting form
We announced last week that an upgraded faculty consulting system is now available for UConn and UConn Health faculty. The link to submit requests in the new system can be found at our website, consulting.uconn.edu.

Senior citizen course auditing
For the Fall 2020 semester, Senior Citizen Auditors may enroll in undergraduate online courses or courses with one or more online components. The Senior Citizen Audit does not apply to laboratory or studio courses. Auditors must also seek instructor consent to enroll in any courses. More information is available at nondegree.uconn.edu/senior-citizen-audit.

Health insurance enrollment deadline
The Health Insurance Open Enrollment for State of Connecticut employees is underway and will end on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. Any changes made during open enrollment will be effective Oct. 1, 2020. Additional information, including how to submit a change and the move to Anthem for all employees, is available on the Human Resources website.

Academic FAQs
We continue to update our FAQs for Academic Scenarios, including detail on our emerging plans for the spring semester. The FAQs are available at provost.uconn.edu/covid-19-fall-planning/covid-19-faqs-for-instruction.

Commencement celebration for fall
President Katsouleas shared an update with students that UConn will not be able to hold an in-person commencement celebration this fall. Connecticut’s current guidelines on large gatherings prohibit any ceremony on the scale of commencement. More information at commencement.uconn.edu/october-ceremony.

 

Publication date: 09/24/2020

Communications » Provost’s Messages and Presentations

Dear UConn Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students:

In any academic year, the week before classes begin is an intense time of preparation for nearly everyone across our institution. This year presents an additional layer of complexity, as each of you has had to reconfigure curriculum and syllabi, office operations, physical spaces, and events, in various combinations of virtual and in-person formats. For many of you, these efforts run parallel to intensified caregiving responsibilities and other personal stressors brought on by COVID-19, with disparate impact experienced by some of the most vulnerable in our community.

President Katsouleas and I emphasized last week in our message the necessity of community in this moment. While we focused on public health in that message, it’s important to remember the other half of the UConn Promise, which calls on us to ensure that each member of our community feels included, supported, and valued by doing all we can to support the goal of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive UConn.

As we start this new semester, each of us will experience professional and personal challenges. I encourage us all to continue to approach our colleagues and our students with compassion, flexibility, and understanding. The care you have each put into building a semester that prioritizes physical safety and emotional well-being, and academic rigor and progress is truly remarkable. I thank each of you for all you have done, and will do throughout this fall, to help UConn move forward, together.

Sincerely,
Carl

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

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Updates for the Academic Community

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies
We announced this week the three finalists for our Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies search. All UConn faculty and staff are invited to submit questions for the candidates, as well as view their public presentations. More information on the finalists  and presentation access can be found on the Provost’s Office website: provost.uconn.edu/administrators-and-leadership/academic-leader-searches.

Faculty and Staff Handbook
The Faculty and Staff Handbook website has a new look. Visit the updated website at handbook.uconn.edu. The handbook is a centralized resource for faculty and staff to locate the information and resources they need at UConn.

Community Office Hours with the Provost’s Office
The Provost’s Office’s weekly Community Office Hours are open to all faculty, staff, and students. More information on upcoming sessions can be found on the Provost’s Office website, provost.uconn.edu.

Returning to Campus training
Please be sure to complete the Returning to Campus and/or Returning to Research training provided by Environmental Health & Safety. This training is required for any employee (faculty/staff/graduate student employees) who will work on campus this fall.

Links for the trainings can be found here:

• General employee training: uconn.edu/covid-19-campus-training
• Lab researcher training: uconn.edu/returning-to-research-at-uconn-and-uconn-health-training-course

Library reopening plan
The Library recently announced its reopening plan to begin on August 31. The plan includes details on availability of common spaces, access to collections, and other Library services. You can find more detail on the UConn Library website. 

COVID-19 support resources
InCHIP’s Social and Behavioral Sciences COVID-19 Workgroup has created and distributed a COVID-19 Support Resources infographic as a quick reference guide for instructors teaching amid COVID-19. The infographic and information on workgroup members can be found here: https://provost.uconn.edu/covid-19-faculty-infographic/.

Travel updates

• International travel
  • The U. S. Department of State has updated its COVID-19 related international travel advisory. Instead of the worldwide “Level 4—Do Not Travel” advisory, it has referred travelers to the country specific travel advisory and U.S. embassy updates (state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-information.html). Almost all countries, however, remain at the status of Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) or Level 4 (Do Not Travel). According to University policy, UConn personnel traveling to Level 3 or 4 countries on University business are required to seek University approval and waive institutional liability for such travel (policy.uconn.edu/2015/07/23/policy-for-education-abroad-and-related-activities-in-sites-with-u-s-department-of-state-travel-warningtravel-alert/#).
• Domestic travel
  • Any faculty member, graduate student, or postdoc who needs to request an exemption to the suspension of domestic out-of-state travel should submit their travel request into Concur. Exemptions to the domestic travel suspension can now be provided by Deans through an additional approval requirement built into Concur for the remainder of COVID-19 travel restrictions. Further FAQs relating to travel can be found here: uconn.edu/covid-19-fall-planning/covid-19-faqs-for-instruction.

In-person office hours
We encourage schools, colleges, departments, and all other offices to post information about your in-person and virtual services to your websites. This will help students and staff know which offices are open to in-person visitors, as well as those offices that continue to operate entirely remotely. Please consider including information such as in-person office hours and procedures (e.g. drop-in or appointment), points of contact, and any other detail that will help your constituents know how and when they can reach your office. Signage is also available to post in your offices and buildings to guide in-person visitors on protocols: brand.uconn.edu/wordmarks-assets/downloads-2/#covid-reopen.

Mansfield town news
The Town of Mansfield recently shared information about modified operations and other local protocols in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in the community. More information, including a list of which business are open, can be found by clicking here.

 

Publication date: 08/25/2020