University of Redlands
June 19, 2020
Dear Students and Families,
Let me begin by thanking you for your patience as the Student Affairs team, and many others across campus, prepare for the start of the semester in late August. Re-imagining the student experience in the context of federal, state and local health and safety guidelines is not easy and working remotely certainly adds to the challenge. Nonetheless, we are making good progress, as I hope was demonstrated earlier this week when students received housing selection information.
This email serves as the start of weekly communication with you to share details and updates on what life on campus will be like this fall. I will use direct emails, as well as the bi-weekly Bulldog Nation newsletter to communicate, and we will also grow and expand the FAQ content online, to allow easy access to the information shared.
To give you a sense of the work being done, here are some things that have been happening regularly since we began working remotely:
The Emergency Planning and Policy Committee (EPP), which I chair, is comprised of about 35 people from across campus. We meet every Thursday. The committee includes President Kuncl and is tasked with making decisions which are informed by “The Tracker,” a list of more than 150 decision points and the corresponding deadline by which each decision needs to be made
I am also chairing the Thermometer Committee (an impressive addition to my resume!) which is tasked with considering product and placement of wall-mounted thermometers on campus. A possible vendor will be on campus next week.
The President and his Cabinet meet at least every Tuesday for 3.5 hours with smaller sub-groups meeting almost daily. Student Affairs Directors meet every Wednesday morning at eight, and the division meets about every ten days as a way to keep everyone informed and connected.
Due to our Master’s degree program in Geographic Information Systems (MGIS), we have faculty from the program mapping indoor and outdoor spaces to determine occupancy in the context of physical distance recommendations. Access to mapping software is a unique and valuable resource, and in addition to GIS faculty, Event Services and Facilities Management staff are also involved in this project.
Greek community members and alumni were notified that their organization houses on the periphery of campus will not be used to house members or host events during the fall semester. They will instead be used as quarantine/self-isolation locations, should we need them. While Greek members are disappointed to not have access to their houses, my colleagues who work directly with Greek leadership are pleased and proud of their response to the news and their efforts to re-imagine what Greek life will be like this fall.
Now let me provide some short answers to questions that have been asked. Additional details related to these answers will come as final decisions are made:
Faculty, staff and students will receive two face coverings that they will be expected to wear. A document outlining community expectations is being developed and will be published prior to the start of the semester.
At present, we do not have plans to test students when they arrive on campus. The Student Health Center’s relationship with LabCorp provides access to tests. Should someone be exhibiting systems, they will be tested for influenza (we have rapid tests), before being tested for COVID-19. Should someone test positive, our response will be in collaboration with the San Bernardino Health Department. Several staff, and some students have completed the Johns Hopkins University contact tracing certification, thus providing on-campus resources should tracing be needed.
Food service is a work-in-progress. Virtual IDs (available through the Redlands App) will limit the exchange of ID cards, multiple entrances into The Table will be used, physical-distance signage will be throughout the venues, sneeze-guards are being installed, expanded outdoor seating will be available, and all disposable products will be used. The development of strategies and solutions related to the dining experience is ongoing. The Harvest Table team on campus, and their corporate leadership team have been tremendous partners in this effort. I can confirm that Bulldog Java and Juice, because of the size of the venue, particularly the space behind the service counter, will not be open in the fall.
Keeping the campus clean and safe will be everyone’s responsibility. At present, the University has about 1000 containers of wipes and 40 gallons of disinfectant in inventory. We will continue to secure product throughout the summer. Students can anticipate seeing sanitizing wipes and gel available across campus. All of us will need to do our part to keep ourselves and others safe. Common spaces will be repeatedly cleaned, but everyone will need to play a part given the volume of traffic on campus on any given day. Expectations for residential communities will be shared, once fully developed. We do ask that everyone arrive on campus with sanitizing wipes and gel.
Again, these are brief insights. More detailed information will be shared throughout the coming weeks. I hope this email has given you a sense of the work that we are doing. There is much more to be done and many decisions yet to be made. In addition to the information I share, the FAQ resources online are also helpful resources and will be updated regularly.
Until next week, Be safe. Be well.
Go Bulldogs!
