Dear members of the Mandel School community,
The safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty and staff is the Mandel School’s first concern. We realize there are a lot of questions about the details contained in recent university announcements, and that sometimes these frequent communications can be overwhelming. Please be assured that the leadership of the Mandel School recognizes the concern surrounding COVID-19 and is moving as quickly as possible, while cooperating with central administration and following their decisions. Your cooperation and composure is appreciated as we all work to support each other.
On March 10th and 11th, we received emails from President Snyder and Provost Vinson. While these communications addressed multiple issues, we want to reiterate two items: 1) the prohibition of on-campus meetings, gatherings and/or conferences larger than 25 people, and 2) the statement that the university is still open and that all staff are expected to report to work as usual.
Item #1 means we cannot have any type of meeting or gathering of more than 25 people. To enforce this, the Mandel School has cancelled any scheduled event that expected more than 25 people. The contacts for events that fall under this prohibition have received notification from Rachel Blake. Meetings among staff members, faculty and students of less than 25 can still occur. Alternatively, some may choose to attend in-person, while others participate via Zoom (which anyone can do from their desk). Meeting organizers should offer a Zoom option.
Regarding item #2, Mandel School administration has been in contact with central administration and it has been confirmed that the university is open and that all staff are expected to report to work as usual. As you will note from the President and Provost’s March 11th email, they are looking into work from home options, but nothing has been announced yet. If a change is announced, the Mandel School will fully cooperate. The Mandel School is also considering individual equipment needs that may have to be met.
Please visit the university’s COVID-19 webpage for updates. In addition to campus-wide communications, it contains information on prevention and a fact sheet.
We will update the Mandel community as necessary with the goal of keeping everyone well-informed while continuing our operations with the least possible disruption.
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