Dear Faculty,

As we mark a year since our governor implemented the “Stay Home Stay Safe” order and the university moved to remote operations, I want to pause for a moment of reflection. This has been an unbelievably difficult year for all of us, one filled with anxiety, stress, and loss. This year, as every year, we have lost beloved members of our community, and we have rejoiced as friends and colleagues welcomed new members of their families, but the grief and the joy felt different in the context of the pandemic. Each of us faced our own struggles, whether with personal losses, family needs, or the challenges of adapting courses, rethinking research strategies, and supporting students. While living through a historic event such as a pandemic it is hard to maintain perspective, but when I look around our university I see a community of resilient doers, changemakers, and learners. I am by nature an optimist, and I see many reasons for hope that this coming year will be a better one, but I want to say “thank you” to each of you for helping one another make it through this year.

President Garimella extends his thanks as well. Please take a moment to view his video reflecting on the last year, recognizing our accomplishments, and offering his gratitude for your commitment to UVM.

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

  • Please remember that faculty and graduate teaching assistants should set clear expectations for students regarding compliance with the classroom guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is critically important that we continue to observe classroom health and safety protocols at all times. Please let your students know that you expect them to monitor their health, mask, observe proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette (sneeze into a tissue or elbow), maintain 6-foot distancing, and clean seats and desktops.
  • Reading/respite days on March 24 and April 15 were added to the spring semester calendar to provide students and faculty alike with an opportunity to catch up or take a break as we make our way through the semester. There are no classes on March 24 and April 15. As a result there should be no labs, no exams, and no makeup work online that is added to students’ regular workloads on these days. It is important that you, and our students, have these brief periods of respite.
  • The Center for Teaching and Learning is calling for applications to its Faculty Associates Program. The program provides a mechanism by which faculty can receive both recognition and compensation for their efforts in supporting colleagues in their teaching. Any faculty member with a full-time appointment is eligible to apply by April 5, 2021. The application and further information are available here.
  • As announced in January, submissions for the James M. Jeffords Grant Program for Policy Studies are due by 4:30 pm on March 26, 2021. Funding decisions will be announced April 16, 2021.
  • Are you planning to hire a foreign national? If yes, please contact the Office of International Education (InternationalScholars@uvm.edu) as soon as you are aware of this possibility. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently increased the premium processing fee to $2,500 (on top of the regular filing fee of $960) to expedite H-1B cases, so the earlier UVM can file those cases, the better. USCIS is taking 2-4 months to adjudicate an H-1B petition but it is not uncommon for the adjudication period to exceed four months.
  • Please join us for the Faculty Teams Live event next week where we’ll provide updates on a variety of academic, research, student life, and professional development topics. As always, we’ll leave plenty of time to answer your questions.

Faculty Teams Live Event – Updates
March 18, 2021
12:00 – 1:00 pm
http://go.uvm.edu/campusupdate

  • Students and academic advisors have been notified that summer study abroad (including fall programs with a start date prior to August 15, 2021) has been cancelled for this year. A decision regarding fall study abroad will be made by June 15.
  • Please visit the Academic Reorganization website to share feedback and find the dates of upcoming Thematic Input Sessions. Remaining sessions include Education, Policy, and Social Impact on March 17; Food, Environment, and Sustainability on March 23; Health Professions on March 25; and, STEM on March 29. These themed sessions will  be followed by a campus-wide working session. If you missed a session and would like to review it, you can also find recordings of previous input sessions on the website (there may be slight posting delays related to captioning requirements).
  • Reminders and recent communications:
    • There are a few spots available for the remaining Faculty Coffee & Conversations with President Garimella and Provost Prelock on Wednesday, March 31 (8:00-9:00 AM) and Wednesday, April 28 (8:00-9:00 AM).  Please register here.
    • Registration is open for the 13th annual Blackboard Jungle: Reimagining an Inclusive Community.
    • The February 27 memo on Student Health Notifications that outlines how faculty will be notified when students are required to quarantine
    • 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.
  • You can find detailed information on COVID-19 tests administered and results on the Weekly Testing Report. Last week’s student test results included 9 off-campus positives and 22 on-campus positives out of 17,966 tests. Last week’s faculty and staff test results included 1 positive out of 1,111 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.

Last year was certainly challenging but some great things happened in 2020 that demonstrated the ingenuity, creativity, and resilience of people across the world. Here a just a few of them:

  • A college student invented a 3-D printer for chocolate.
  • Make-a-Wish granted its 500,000th wish, helping 16-year-old Karina create a virtual camp that gave other kids “a day to forget they’re sick.”
  • Chris Nikic became the first athlete with Down Syndrome to complete an Ironman triathlon, earning a Guinness World Record in the process.
  • A Kenyan engineer, Nzambi Matee, recycled plastic into bricks stronger than concrete creating sustainable, strong building material.
  • Adi Utarini, a public health researcher, cut the cases of Dengue fever by 77% in a large Indonesian city by releasing mosquitoes that had been modified to stop them from transmitting the virus.
  • One man paid the bill of the car behind him in a Minnesota Dairy Queen drive-thru—and sparked a pay-it-forward train that lasted for 900 cars, spanning two full days.

There are so many more, but the best thing about 2020 was working with all of you, navigating the unknowns and finding ways to support our students. Let’s keep making great things happen.

Warmly,
Patty