I would like to bid a warm welcome to the 2020-21 leaders and representatives of the Academic Senate and to thank all of our Senate colleagues who contributed so greatly to the campus during 2019-20. We look forward to another strong year of partnership and collaborative planning under our shared governance model.

A special thanks to Senate leadership for co-hosting two town halls for faculty this summer. Visit the Senate website to view information from the August 11th Senate/Administration Summer Town Hall on the Campus Financial Strategy and Budget Issues and the August 18th Senate/Administration Summer Town Hall on Fall Quarter 2020.

There are additional Return to Learn Town Halls scheduled for faculty (September 18) and staff (September 24). Visit the Return to Learn Town Halls webpage for the complete schedule or to review information from previous sessions.

While we were able to hire many outstanding new faculty colleagues during 2019-20, the hiring of new ladder-rank faculty and teaching faculty is paused for the 2020-21 academic year, due to the financial impacts of the global pandemic.

However, as announced at the August 11 Senate/Administration Town Hall, the Chancellor has approved a few very specific exceptions to deal with urgent teaching needs, sustain the hiring of PPFP/CPFP fellows, and take advantage of a special Advancing Faculty Diversity cluster hire initiative. Details have been provided to deans and chairs, who will share them with their academic units.

As a reminder: we need to keep our academic buildings at no more than 25% of their typical operational occupancy at all times, per San Diego County regulations. It is essential that we continue to follow social distancing and other public health guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within our campus community. Therefore, employees - academic appointees and staff - should plan to continue working remotely until further notice, except with prior approval due to special circumstances.

Staff should continue to work remotely at least through December 31, 2020, unless notified otherwise by their supervisor.

 Academic appointees should likewise continue working remotely for the remainder of the calendar year except while teaching in-person courses in an assigned classroom, participating in an approved Return-to-Research plan, or working under an approved exception to access private offices for research, scholarship or creative activity. For their health and the health and safety of others, faculty should not work from private offices on campus unless such activity is formally coordinated and approved with other occupancy plans. 

All proposals for Academic Affairs employees to return to campus for work on a regular basis must receive authorization from AVC Steve Ross (sross@ucsd.edu). If the proposal is endorsed by AVC Ross, Deans/AVCs should coordinate plans for their units in line with the guidance provided to vice chancellors, and must certify that occupancy will not exceed the county mandated 25% occupancy cap. Plans should be submitted using the online form by September 30, 2020. Submitted plans must be reviewed and endorsed by the Emergency Operations Center before final review by the EVC. Only after EVC review and approval of such plans will designated employees be permitted to return to on-campus work.

Please review Return to Campus (Non-Research Departments) for details about what is required for units and employees seeking to return to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To reduce opportunities for the spread of COVID-19, any event originally scheduled to take place in person on campus through December 31, 2020 must be presented in virtual format, rescheduled for a future date, or canceled. Please review COVID-19 and Event Planning for details. And be sure to check the following resources for other helpful information:

Large Event Licensing for Zoom and Zoom safeguards for privacy and security 

Please be aware that in order to lessen the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, anyone coming to UC San Diego is required to wear a face covering while on campus in all spaces, where people are in proximity to one another, per the campus safety requirements and PPM 516-30. Instructors of record, teaching assistants, and students will all be required to wear face coverings - and remain at least 6’ apart - during in-person class sessions, whether in an indoor classroom or an approved outdoor teaching space.

A variety of face coverings are available for purchase in the UC San Diego Bookstore and at Sunshine Market.

Please be sure to review the Campus Guidance on Face Coverings for details about the requirement, including what constitutes an appropriate face covering, guidance for face coverings in laboratories, and how to care for face coverings.

The health and safety of our students and employees will depend on the full cooperation of the campus community with the safety requirements. The behavior of an individual can have a major impact on virus transmission and the likelihood of community outbreaks. We are counting on everyone to follow the guidelines and regulations for their own health as well as the health and safety of others. We should encourage one another to follow the requirements, for example, by clearly communicating expectations, posting reminders, or sharing tips. At the same time, campus should still be an inclusive and welcoming environment. Please bear in mind that everyone’s circumstances are different and practice compassion towards your fellow Tritons.

Please follow the buttons below for details about how compliance will be enforced for academic appointees, researchers, and staff. We expect the protocols for student compliance to be available next week. This information is also posted on the campus safety requirements website.

The university has developed a few steps that can be used if someone on campus is not wearing a protective face covering. Please follow the button below to view the suggestions. You can also find a link to the poster on the campus safety requirements webpage.

Please feel free to print the poster and check out other safety posters available for download to help remind campus community members of safety protocols.

If you see activity on campus that may be jeopardizing your health and safety or violating the San Diego County Health Orders, please report it immediately using this form or contact the Whistleblower Hotline. For emergencies and/or criminal matters, contact UC San Diego Police: 9-1-1 from campus phones; other phones (858) 534-4357 (534-HELP).