Update on Summer Return to Workplace

Dear UC Faculty and Staff,

In his April message to campus, President Neville Pinto provided a stepwise approach for a summer Return to Workplace:

• Phase 1: 33% return of faculty and staff on Tuesday, June 15.
• Phase 2: 66% return of faculty and staff on Tuesday, July 6.
• Phase 3: 100% return of faculty and staff on Thursday, July 15.

Our workplace return anticipates a traditional Fall Semester. Since we expect students to fully participate in classes, the residential experience and student activities, the expectation is that every office will be open and fully staffed. Employee rotations or alternating on-campus/remote work schedules will be considered only in cases where social distancing/shared workspace needs require it, as detailed in the below health and safety section.

Faculty and staff at higher risk for serious complications from COVID-19 due to a health condition that rises to the level of disability under the ADAAA may request an accommodation.

Finalized work plans for each unit are to be submitted for review by that unit’s vice president (or designee) by Friday, June 11. Vice presidents will be in communication with their staff regarding these matters.

Based on the changes to federal and state health guidance, UC is making the following adjustments, to go into effect June 2:

• Fully vaccinated: Individuals who have been fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear a facial covering while on campus except, per CDC guidance, on buses, e.g., UC shuttle. Note that individuals are fully vaccinated 14 days after their final dose of vaccine.

• Unvaccinated: Individuals who have not been fully vaccinated are still to wear a facial covering and maintain social distancing when indoors except when eating/drinking or alone in a private room or office. Unvaccinated individuals are not required to wear facial covering when outdoors and able to maintain 6 feet of social distancing.

• Social distancing: We will currently continue to plan for 6-feet social distancing in campus spaces. This is especially important in shared office and workspaces where individuals are or may be sharing space for an entire work shift and in high-traffic common areas and social settings like campus eateries, TUC and CRC.

This guidance may be subject to change as conditions change.

Please find more details on the Public Health website and the Return to Campus Guide.

It’s important to acknowledge our interest in future remote work possibilities. We are now engaged in a careful review of our Alternative Work Schedule Policy, which addresses, among other things, remote work. We anticipate completion of this policy review during the Fall Term and will communicate outcomes through managers and supervisors.

Every member of our campus community has contributed to our enviable track record for healthy behaviors. As a result, our COVID positivity rate among our on-campus students remained very low. That level of consistency remains our goal.

Guiding all of our behaviors during the Return to Workplace phase-in are the bonds we have already established with our coworkers. Some of us have worked together for years, and we know and care about one another not only as colleagues but often as friends too. While UC is not requiring the vaccine, high levels of vaccination participation will allow us to reduce spread, reduce the need for hospitalization due to severe symptoms, and more fully embrace our next normal. Those able to be vaccinated are strongly encouraged to do so on behalf of the entire Bearcat community

• See the Return to Campus Guide for information on space adaptations, human resources questions, cleaning, parking and more.

Thank you for your help in supporting our students,

Robert F. Ambach, MPA
Senior Vice President, Administration and Finance

Andrew T. Filak, Jr., MD
Senior Vice President, Health Affairs, and Dean, College of Medicine

Kristi A. Nelson, PhD
Executive Vice President and Provost