Update: Resuming Move-in and Instruction Delivery Modes

 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

With approval from our Board of Regents, along with University of Minnesota System leadership, on August 24 we made the decision to delay the start of most in-person classes and student residence hall move-in for at least two weeks. Taking a brief pause to learn from the challenges other universities around the country were experiencing as students returned to their campuses, allowed the University to adjust its approach in combating the virus. This was essential to providing a higher level of safety for our students, faculty, and staff.

Today, we have a way forward that allows us to adapt the extensive plans that have been developed over the summer, and offers a return to on-campus life that prioritizes your health and safety while best positioning all of us to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The Maroon and Gold Sunrise plan adds a layer to existing plans for Fall 2020, and specifically addresses how we will welcome undergraduate students back to our residence halls. It also includes a September 14 return to face-to-face and blended instruction, in addition to the online and remote teaching we are currently using.

The Maroon and Gold Sunrise plan requires everyone’s participation if we are to be successful. In particular, the undergraduate students who live in on-campus and near-campus housing all have an enormous role to play. Watch this video with students and Champ to see health and safety measures around campus. It won’t be easy, and it won’t look anything like a traditional fall on our campus, but I believe if we all commit to this plan, commit to our health precautions, and fully utilize the MTest plan, we can continue with on-campus courses, active residence halls, and certain other activities this semester.

The plan has four steps, each with different expectations. Below is an overview; the full Maroon and Gold Sunrise plan has more detailed information about each phase.

• Step 1: Stay in assigned housing for ten days, with limited exceptions.
  • Students remain in residence halls for ten days after arrival except to attend classes; use dining facilities, campus health services, library, recreation and wellness facilities; or to shop for necessities. They may also be outdoors if following physical distancing guidelines.
  • Students may be granted exceptions for medical or mental health appointments or family emergencies.
  • Students may report to on- or off-campus work shifts.
• Step 2: Increased access to campus and the surrounding community, with 10 p.m. return to residence halls.
  • For two weeks, students who have completed Step One will have greater campus access. In addition to the locations allowed under step one, students can also visit Kirby Student Center, other on-campus locations, and the surrounding community.
• Step 3: Full access to campus and the surrounding community, with a midnight return to residence halls.
  • Students have full access to University facilities and surrounding communities in accordance with existing University, city, or state COVID restrictions.
  • We expect Step Three to last approximately two weeks.
• Step 4: COVID normal operations, during which students will continue having full access to campus and the surrounding community with all appropriate health and safety protocols, but no longer have any limits on when residents must return to their rooms on any given day. Reverting back to a previous step could be required if warranted by public health conditions on or around campus.

For students living off-campus who may be taking in-person courses and visiting campus facilities, please limit your on-campus interactions if possible. We encourage you to continue to be safe, wear a face covering, maintain physical distancing from those not in your household, and to get tested if you have COVID symptoms or are instructed to seek testing by a public health or medical official. The MTest program is available to all students regardless of where you live, so please utilize it should you feel sick.

We will also be sharing our plans with officials, business owners, and landlords in the neighborhoods and cities where our campuses are located, to ensure they are aware of our plans and to request their help to promote a successful semester.

Students, I know this is a lot to ask, especially of the many of you who will be experiencing campus life for the first time. It will be a challenge, and I want you to know I have such confidence in each of you. Your choices and judgement at each step will play a critical role in allowing us to progress to the final phase, and your work to keep yourself and others safe and healthy will pay off in the opportunity for all students to remain on campus, rather than reverting to distance learning as we did in the spring.

I send you this message with the full conviction that together we can do this and do it well. We will show our communities, our state, and the country that the University of Minnesota continues to be a leader in COVID-19 research and clinical care, as well as a model for a blended approach to teaching this semester.

Thank you all for your commitment to a healthy and safe semester. In addition to the plan linked above, remember to visit the UMD COVID Safe Campus website and watch for additional information to be sent this week specific to your living or learning plans.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Fall Semester Update, UMD Sunrise Plans, COVID Dashboard

 Dear Faculty and Staff,

A few updates for you as we round out yet another busy week. 

Fall 2020

We have been actively monitoring peer institutions around the country as they have moved students to campus and begun fall semester classes in recent weeks. We have watched as many schools have experienced COVID-19 outbreaks, and we are closely reviewing their response, in conjunction with our local data to make our decisions with better information. With full appreciation for the extra work our two-week delay caused and the uncertainty it created, it is incredibly helpful for us to see actual data rather than projections as we finalize our own Fall 2020 plan and stay focused on the health and safety of all students, faculty, and staff.

As was noted in the Board of Regents discussion last Monday, we hope to have clarity on our plan for moving forward around September 4.

Sunrise Plans and Working From Home

On Wednesday, August 26, University of Minnesota System Interim Vice President for Human Resources Ken Horstman, sent all of us a communication with updates regarding the System’s Sunrise Plans. There have been questions from UMD faculty and staff about how this communication impacts the Sunrise Plans we already have in place at UMD. The UMD Sunrise Plans that have been approved remain in effect.

Mr. Horstman indicates the Governors' executive orders directing Minnesotans to work from home if able to do so remain in place. While the State and the University have allowed a number of individuals to return to the workplace when needed, UMD employees who can work from home should continue working from home unless your UMD unit’s Sunrise Plan requires you to work on campus. If you are working on campus through an approved Sunrise Plan, you should continue to do so. Please visit with your supervisor if you have questions or concerns about that plan or about working on campus. 

COVID-19 Campus Dashboards

Earlier today all five campuses published the first iteration of an online COVID-19 dashboard (UMD's COVID dashboard). As we collect more data in the weeks ahead, you will see enhancements that will help illustrate trend lines, as well as other information that will provide some perspective on our student community. 

There are significant limitations to these data. For the Duluth campus, our data are limited to what is collected at UMD Health Services, just one of more than 250 testing sites around the state. Due to federal patient privacy laws (HIPAA), the University does not know the test results for Duluth students, faculty, or staff that seek testing at any other facility. Testing data for these other testing sites are reported to the Minnesota Department of Health and would appear in the county data on the MDH COVID page. 

Thank you for your patience and dedication to UMD. I particularly appreciate all the work done to prepare for the fall semester, while balancing shifting plans and homelife. Working from home can have advantages, but many of us miss seeing each other in person, interacting with our students and colleagues, enjoying a laugh, and supporting each other in ways that are difficult to do from a distance. I am hopeful those days will come again soon.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Fall Semester Starting Online; Move-in Delayed

 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

 
The Board of Regents met this morning and approved University of Minnesota System President Joan Gabel’s proposed adjustments to the fall semester. As I mentioned in my message to you on Friday, this is a difficult decision and a decision made with the health and safety of our campus community at the forefront. 

With the Board of Regents approval today of President Gabel’s recommendation:

• We will start the semester as scheduled on August 31, but primarily through online and remote instruction. 
• We will follow the University of Minnesota plan and pause move-in for our residential students for at least two weeks.

With support from the University of Minnesota System public health experts, we are constantly monitoring the data, following public health guidance, and watching what is happening in our communities and at other institutions of higher education across the country. I know that you have many questions. Campus leadership is working diligently to address them and communicate answers as they become available.

I am very thankful to the faculty and staff who have prepared for fall and continue to adapt to this changing environment. I am also thankful for a very engaged UMD community. I have heard from many of you, and I appreciate your comments and passion for our campus. While I can’t predict what the future holds, I do promise that we will do all we can to examine the scenarios in front of us, keep you informed, and find the best way forward.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Postponed: Chancellor's Welcome for All Staff and Faculty, Monday, August 24, 2020

 Dear Faculty and Staff,

This is a quick reminder that the Welcome for all Faculty and Staff scheduled for this morning is postponed due to the special Board of Regents meeting related to the fall semester start.  I will reschedule our welcome soon and will communicate more information as it becomes available.  If you have questions, please submit them on this Google form.

Thank you and stay well.

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Potential Adjustments to the Start of the Fall 2020 Semester

 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

 
Today, you received an email from University of Minnesota System President Joan Gabel, regarding the upcoming fall semester and some proposed changes that will go to the Board of Regents this coming Monday, August 24. It is important to remember that any adjustments to our approach for fall are not final until Board of Regents members provide input and take action.  

As President Gabel noted, the COVID-19 pandemic brings many challenges and uncertainties to our world, and the impact of the pandemic continues to expand. Our priority from the beginning of this pandemic has been to continue to provide our students with quality educational opportunities while doing all we can to ensure the health and safety of our campus community. UMD staff and faculty have worked hard to prepare our campus for the return of students. We are following all Minnesota Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, and I believe our campus is at least as safe as most public spaces.

We are constantly monitoring the situation and the data around it, working closely with public health experts, and watching what is happening at other institutions of higher education. Given everything we are facing and the increasing threat of the pandemic, President Gabel is proposing to the Board of Regents:

• A pause of at least two weeks on move-in for our residential students.
• Starting the semester as scheduled on August 31, but primarily through online and remote instruction. 

At present the approach should not alter the academic calendar for the fall semester, but I acknowledge that this sudden change alters the instructional plans for some faculty. Executive Vice Chancellor Delgado will be working with the academic units and Information Technology Systems and Services to support this transition.

If the Board of Regents approves President Gabel’s proposal, we will not be able to reopen on-campus residence halls and apartments as scheduled. Some residential spaces will still be open for students who need to be there in order to continue their online course work. Housing and Residence Life will communicate more information to students next week. Campus will still be open in several areas to support students. 

I am extremely grateful to all of you who continue to work tirelessly and adapt to this continuously evolving situation. This is not the way we wanted to start the semester and I share in your disappointment. I regret that this change is happening now with little time for us to prepare and adjust. We ask that faculty scheduled to teach in all or some face-to-face modality assess how to migrate to a remote or online delivery for at least the first two weeks of instruction. We ask that staff in areas associated with move-in activities assess changes that are needed in programming.

Due to the Board of Regents meeting on Monday morning, I am postponing the Faculty and Staff Welcome that was scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday. I will reschedule this soon to keep you informed and will communicate more information as it becomes available. 

I am constantly impressed by the persistence, determination, and grit of our UMD community. We will get through this. 

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Reminder: Chancellor's Welcome for All Staff and Faculty, Monday, August 24, 2020

 Dear Faculty and Staff,

This is a reminder to please join me virtually on Monday, August 24 at 10:00 a.m. for our annual faculty and staff welcome. The event link found here will be live on Monday morning.

I'd like to take time during this session to answer questions that you and others may have. Please submit those on this Google form by noon on Friday, August 21.

I wish we could meet together for our usual start of the semester breakfast. For those of you who are on campus next week, please stop by Northern Shores Coffee Shop on Monday, August 24 or Tuesday, August 25 between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. for a complimentary cup of coffee, provided by UMD Catering.

Thank you and stay well.

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor 

Title IX Coordinator

 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

You may be aware that recent federal legislation requires several changes in the ways colleges and universities handle Title IX issues. At the Board of Regents meeting on July 30, the Board approved the University of Minnesota’s plan for meeting the new requirements, which need to be in place by August 14, 2020. One change in the federal requirements is a more prescriptive determination of who can and cannot serve as a university’s Title IX Coordinator.

Unfortunately, this new requirement prevents Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Dean of Students Dr. Lisa Erwin from continuing her service in this role. Because she is in the line of decision making for student issues, she can no longer serve as the coordinator.  

Dr. Erwin has done an outstanding job as UMD’s Title IX Coordinator and has made many contributions locally and nationally to Title IX related policies and practices. I appreciate her ongoing service, dedication, and advocacy to matters related to Title IX.

Dr. Jennifer Mencl has agreed to serve as UMD’s Title IX Coordinator for one year while we evaluate the new UMD policies and procedures required by the Federal Government. Dr. Mencl’s new duties are in addition to her continued assignment as Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Effectiveness.

Please join me in thanking Dr. Erwin for her service as Title IX Coordinator and expressing our appreciation to Dr. Mencl for assuming this additional responsibility.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor