Rockhurst Faculty and Staff Companions
Friday, March 13, 2020
Rockhurst Faculty and Staff Companions,
Yesterday’s announcement that we will suspend face-to-face classes until at least March 28 is a major change in operations for Rockhurst University and one that many other institutions throughout the country are making. As the situation throughout our nation continues to change rapidly, we want to provide additional information about our planning efforts so that you can be aware of what is going on behind the scenes.
· The President’s Cabinet, in partnership with the crisis management work group, is meeting at least twice daily to thoughtfully respond to the fast-paced environment caused by the evolving conditions around coronavirus (COVID-19). A comprehensive FAQ is being compiled and will be available to all employees as soon as tomorrow. It will contain very detailed information to help guide supervisors in decision making and being attentive to employee needs.
· As a reminder, if you are sick, please stay home.
· We are preparing a comprehensive email to students that will be sent later this afternoon. You will be copied on this message so that you will know what we are communicating to them.
· Faculty will receive an additional email today with information specific to them.
· We have revised our guidance related to international and domestic travel since sending our campus message yesterday to be more specific in light of the number of health emergencies being declared. If a faculty or staff member travels to a country with a CDC level of 3 or higher, or while during their international or domestic travel has come into contact with a person who has the coronavirus (or suspected to), they are required to immediately report this to their supervisor, department chair and dean, self-quarantine, and stay away completely from all University property, events and people for at least 14 days. The FAQ we are sending this weekend will repeat this and provide guidance for returning to campus after the 14-day period.
· As we announced in yesterday’s email, all events with 50 or more people are being postponed or canceled through the end of March. In addition, all events through the Center for Arts and Letters will be canceled through April. Alumni relations has canceled all events through Easter with the hope of rescheduling some of them at a later date.
· Today the Great Lakes Valley Conference canceled the GLVC championships and suspended athletics activities until at least April 6.
Please continue to watch your Rockhurst email and www.rockhurst.edu/coronavirus for updates. If you have any concerns or questions, please approach your supervisor, department chair, dean or appropriate cabinet member.
We understand that this can be a stressful time not only in our professional lives but also in our personal lives. We very much appreciate all you are doing to help us maintain a high-quality learning environment for our students and a community that values all of its members.
