March 9 Mandel Communication - Campus Preparations and Travel

Dear Mandel faculty and staff,

Since late January, we have received multiple communications regarding how the university is addressing COVID-19. All of us will play a part in how the university responds to COVID-19, and your involvement is both critical and appreciated. We all want to support each other and our students as we move forward. Part of this effort includes keeping the Mandel community well-informed.

The university has set up a webpage that contains all updates related to COVID-19 (including their email communications). Please check it frequently and note that it contains additional important information beyond what is in this communication. Additionally, Craig Zullig sent an email to the Mandel community on March 5, 2020 to strongly encourage that all faculty and staff review the university’s webpage that lists the tools and services that would be helpful in the event of a full closure. For many of us, that will include VPN software, so that all servers can be reached, and Zoom. Please review this page and install any necessary software on all equipment – personal or School-issued. And, don’t forget to test it in advance. Please reach the [U]Tech Help desk at help.case.edu or 368-HELP for assistance.

For those who are teaching during this period, please note that [U]Tech has developed resources to support online teaching. This link was also shared in an email sent by Provost Vinson yesterday. These may be of interest to those who have not taught online before or to those who will be using a different technology when teaching online (ex: Canvas may have different features than Atrio).

Please keep in mind that current faculty, staff and students can use the university’s technology resources, such as Zoom.

The university’s COVID-19 webpage also addresses personal and business travel. A summary of this information is below (as of March 9, 2020), but please review this website as it contains more information than what is summarized here.

Travel that is not university sponsored

Travel that is university sponsored

  • Travel to cities or counties where government leaders have declared a health emergency, or the CDC has declared as high risk, is prohibited. At the moment, this includes only Los Angeles and King counties (Seattle is in the latter).
  • Travel to cities or counties other than those listed immediately above is not restricted at this time.

For all international travel

It is also recommended that those considering any travel closely follow the Centers for Disease Control’s webpage regarding all travel.

Please realize the university is open at this time, and that we are just preparing. All campus-based staff are still expected to work on-site as they normally do. If the situation changes, the university will notify the community, and Mandel leadership will cooperate while working to continue our operations with the least possible disruption. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Grover C. Gilmore, PhD
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Dean in Applied Social Sciences

Craig M. Zullig, MBA, CRA
Associate Dean for Finance and Administration