Phase 3 Research Transitioning
Bill Maurer
Thursday April 1 15:57:03 PDT 2021
Dear social sciences faculty, researchers, staff, lecturers, and
grad students,
You will have seen Vice Chancellor Khargonekar's email regarding
Phase 3 Research Transitioning, beginning April 5. I know the
guidance is still confusing as we prepare for Orange County to enter
the state's "orange tier," but things are moving in the right
direction. At the same time, the campus and the state will continue
to require adherence to the CDC's guidance and other public health
directives. What this means for us is:
1) There will still be a process to apply for approval to return
to campus to conduct research activities. Associate Dean McBride
will send more information shortly, along with a new Google form
to complete in order to apply to return to campus for research
purposes.
2) Phase 3 means no more strict occupancy limits, but six feet of
distance between people and the use of masks/face coverings is still
required for all on-campus activities, including research. I am
leaving it up to individual departments to decide whether they still
want to maintain a shared calendar in order for people to plan time
in their offices/labs so as to minimize interaction. Your department
manager will let you know if you should be continuing to use your
department's shared calendar.
3) We submitted a number of questions to the campus Environmental
Health and Safety unit about our buildings' air handling equipment
in order to inform you of whether air exchange and flow through the
buildings will still meet safety standards given the expected
increase in occupancy. We are awaiting answers--and I or Allison
Marks will update you as soon as we have them. A huge thanks to
Allison for staying on this topic for us.
4) The travel restrictions are being lifted, BUT please do not plan
any research-related travel just yet, until I am able to provide
you with more guidance on this matter. Soon, soon!
It's exciting to be able to begin the approval process for more
research to take place in our facilities, but I want to remind
everyone that continued vigilance is still crucial to overcoming
this pandemic. I don't need to cite statistics or send links to
articles about the rapidly changing situation. My default recommendation
is still: If you don't absolutely need to be using the campus
buildings to do your work, then please don't, so that those who
must be on-site can do so as safely as possible.
Once again, thank you all for your patience and your diligence as
we get ready for the the next phase of our gradual return to campus.
And please get vaccinated if you have not done so already!
Bill