Dear Colleagues,
We are barely a month and a half away from starting our most unique Fall Semester. The campus re-opening taskforce has been meeting regularly to monitor the situation and firm up our plans for opening in Fall. At this time, we are considering opening the campus only for classes that cannot meet in the online or remote mode. We are also planning to make the campus accessible to our students so they can use campus facilities. Since my last communication, there has been some significant developments. Let me summarize these developments and their impact on campus reopening:
1. Athletics: California Community College Athletics Association (CCCAA) decided to adopt the Contingency Plan for athletics – the plan is attached. Essentially, this plan requires all sports are postponed to Spring 2021. Postponement of Fall sports to Spring has its impact on staffing and facilities usage as well.
2. Childcare Center: After consulting Kelly Thomas, Laureen Campana, Jake Radetich, and Trevor Stewart, I have decided to postpone opening of Childcare center until the campus re-opening for Fall in late August. We will meet again in early August and re-assess the situation.
3. Accessing the campus: I understand that faculty members and staff do need to access their offices to prepare for Fall. Any employee can access his/her office to perform essential duties after filling out a form and obtaining approval from their immediate management supervisor. We will continue this practice per guidance of County Health Officer. Please reach out to your dean or manager if you need to come to the campus. Please keep in mind that our objective is to keep the campus population to a minimum to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19. If you choose to come to the campus, please follow the guidelines of wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing, and following all requirements articulated in the guide sent to you by Trevor earlier.
We are also in the process of developing a chart that shows who need to come to the campus and at what time when we re-open in Fall. This chart, developed by the managers in consultation with the employees will help us understand the population density on campus and plan for opening our buildings. Based on the information available at this time, we are planning to allow only those employees to campus who need access to their offices to do their jobs. Those who can work from remote will continue to do so until the situation improves.
Despite the challenges, our campus community has collaborated with one another to maintain the services to our students. Thank you for all you have done and are continuing to do – together, we will overcome all challenges.
Stay healthy, stay safe.
Santanu
