Dear Faculty,

I hope your week has been productive and meaningful as you engage with students and focus on your research, scholarship, and creative works.

It has been a tough few weeks for our students to maintain the level of social isolation that is required during this time of rising COVID numbers across the nation. We are enhancing expectations for student compliance with the Green and Gold Promise in March and increasing testing to twice a week for the next couple of weeks, while at the same time trying to find ways students can engage with their friends while masking and social distancing outside and in large open spaces. We have also expanded our quarantine space to accommodate students exposed to the virus. Please be sensitive to the needs of students who are quarantining and isolating so they can stay on track academically. We have a solid health and safety plan in place and with everyone’s cooperation we can work through the challenges we are all facing with COVID-19.

As I do each week, I’m writing to share some important information with you.

  • Please remember that if a student has a medical reason to miss class or to switch to remote attendance, that student’s Dean’s Office or Student Services Office will contact you on behalf of Student Health Services to request flexible attendance, and we ask that in these cases you show as much flexibility as possible to support our public health response. If a student writes to you to request flexibility in attendance due to a potential exposure and you have not been contacted by their Dean’s Office/Student Services Office, direct them to contact Student Health Services (SHS) immediately so that they stay in compliance with the Green and Gold Promise.
  • UVMStrong has received some messages of concern regarding congestion in hallways as students wait for a classroom to empty. Please remind your students to maintain six foot distancing when waiting to enter their classroom. If you need to use space outside of your classroom, such as a hallway, for breakout groups, please remind students to maintain six foot distancing, including moving down the hallway if necessary to find more space. If there is not enough room to safely conduct group discussions, the space outside your classroom should not be utilized for this purpose.
  • Registration for UVM’s annual Student Research Conference is now open until March 15 at 12:00 p.m. This exciting event will be hosted virtually and all students are encouraged to participate and can register here. In addition, the conference welcomes faculty engagement by proposing invited and/or special sessions arranged around a particular interest or research area. Contact Vivien Enriquez with questions or for more information.
  • As announced in the February 22 message from Director of Compliance Services Tessa Lucey, recently, federal programs that support UVM have increased their focus on Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment (COI/COC) issues. In response, and like most research universities, UVM will now require all faculty (regardless of FTE), and all exempt staff working at .5 FTE or more to file an annual COI/COC disclosure. Disclosures will be submitted through UVMClick, and this requirement will be phased in between March 1 and October 31. More information to come.
  • UVM’s Distance Education Advisory Council is pleased to announce its First Annual Prelock Online Teaching Award, recognizing and rewarding superior online teaching, providing models of excellence for fellow faculty, and encouraging all faculty to continue to improve and advance their online teaching pedagogy. All full-time, part-time or adjunct faculty who have taught a fully-online, asynchronous course during spring, summer, or fall 2020 are eligible. Nominations may be submitted here between now and May 1, 2021. Just a special note to my CDE colleagues. I was humbled by their desire to name their first annual online teaching award in my name—nothing I expected since so many on campus contribute in such significant ways to our excellence in on line teaching. An early adopter more than 25 years ago, I have seen the power of teaching students effectively online and appreciate the education CDE has provided to me in my teaching journey over more than two decades—thank you!
  • I want to share these reminders and make sure you’ve seen these important recent communications:
    • Vice President Derr’s February 24 memo on Elevated Sanctions and Testing Two Times Per Week
    • Vice President Derr’s February 21 memo on Expanded Quarantine Capacity
    • Summer University registration opened February 18; please encourage your students to stay academically engaged with us this summer.
    • We have updated the display case adjacent to room 300 Waterman, devoting it to faculty research, scholarship, and creative arts. If you have a 2020 book, CD, exhibition catalogue, or publicity materials we can feature, send your submission to Lori Desotell in room 304 Waterman. We change the display monthly and will return materials to you via campus mail.
  • You can find detailed information on COVID-19 tests administered and results on the Weekly Testing Report. Last week’s student test results included 21 off-campus positives and 41 on-campus positives out of 11,023 tests. Last week’s faculty and staff test results included 2 positives out of 1,028 tests. As you know, new and more contagious strains of the virus have emerged. Please recommit to all COVID-19 safety precautions and practices and refrain from travel and gathering. Faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to participate in regular testing.
  • We are all excited about the progress that has been made related to the vaccine and its distribution in Vermont. I am especially proud of the role UVM researchers have played to advance vaccine trials. I strongly encourage everyone to get the vaccine as soon as it is available to you. Additional information about vaccines is available at the Vermont Department of Health vaccine webpage and from the CDC’s vaccination webpage.

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, I was remembering a very special opportunity I had to meet Maya Angelou, American poet, memoirist and civil rights activist. She attended my national convention in 2012 as our featured speaker. She was 84 at the time, and sharp and filled with spunk in her words and delivery. I was reflecting on some of the words she shared and has written over the years. Several stand out but these words seem to be relevant at this time of navigating this new world of COVID and tremendous change. She said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”  Important words to guide us through these challenging times.

Warmly,
Patty