March 17: Message from Dean Diane McFarlin
Everyone:
I hope you are all healthy, well stocked with paper products, and not feeling too much anxiety as we navigate the coronavirus crisis.
The situation has been evolving rapidly and I have been reluctant to share information before it has been affirmed at the highest level. As the sun sets on the day, I am certain about these developments:
- Classes will remain online for the duration of the Spring semester and students are strongly encouraged to remain off-campus. In addition, it was announced today that all classes for Summer A and C should be offered exclusively online. Nothing has been determined yet for Summer B.
- There will be no commencement ceremonies in May. We have been encouraged to consider alternative means of commemorating graduation.
- Employees are encouraged to work from home. Exceptions are those whose presence is essential to operations. In our case, we are asking about 40 people in the Division of Media Properties and the Innovation News Center to continue to report to work on an as-needed basis. No students will be working in the INC, but some will be doing remote reporting to help keep our community’s informed. It is times like this when the mission of our public media is even more critical.
- Social distancing – maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from others – is critically important. Steps have been taken to ensure that employees who will continue to work in Weimer are able to maintain this safe distance. On a related note, you are encouraged to use Zoom or other virtual tools for all meetings.
- We have closed Weimer Hall to walk-ins. Only those with GatorOne cards tied to CJC will be able to enter the building. If you need to pick up something from your office, you may use swipe access to enter the building.
- For students who need to stay on campus – and this is the case for many international students – housing and food will continue to be provided.
- All non-essential travel is prohibited. Any college-related travel must be approved by the Dean’s Office.
- We have suspended all searches but are considering options for those searches that are at the finalist stage.
- We are reminding students that Aid-a-Gator funds are available to help them in emergency situations. We are concerned that many students will experience grave financial strain due to the inability to work, or because their parents’ employment status has been affected.
- We have been asked to try to keep employees working however possible so that no one is without a paycheck. This is not particularly relevant to CJC’s employee population, but in certain cases we will develop assignments for those whose normal work routine is disrupted.
We will continue to communicate the latest developments and resources, and have aggregated this information for you here: https://www.jou.ufl.edu/covid19/.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, Spiro, Keisha or Randy Wright with any questions or concerns, and please let me know if there are considerations we are missing. The long-term impact of this situation has yet to be assessed, but we will work to anticipate the scope of its impact on the College and all of you.
Diane
Posted: March 17, 2020
Category: Covid-19 Updates
Tagged as: Covid-19
