Faculty and Researchers Return to Campus

As mentioned in yesterday’s campus notice, UC San Diego is ready to begin the next phase of our plan to incrementally repopulate campus. This phase is focused on increasing the number of faculty and principal investigators (PIs) permitted to use their individual labs, offices and studios for academic and research work within the county’s current 25 percent occupancy cap.

Your safety on campus is our primary concern. Our strategy to thoughtfully increase academic and research populations on campus is guided by evidence, science and expertise from faculty in our School of Medicine and Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and from healthcare experts at UC San Diego Health.

The goal is to approve individual return to campus plans for 100 percent of faculty and researchers and then carefully coordinate activities in order to remain within the county’s 25 percent occupancy cap. Everyone can be included on plans, but only 25 percent of us will be permitted on campus at any given time. We hope to accustom faculty to being back on campus and build momentum for an eventual transition to primarily in-person teaching and research as safely as possible.

Commitment to Equity

We recognize that shifts between remote work and on-site work have significant impact on those with caregiving responsibilities, including childcare/eldercare arrangements. In order to successfully resume campus academic and research operations, we will be mindful of the many dimensions of life that the pandemic is impacting.

The situation for K-12 schooling of children, the availability of family care, issues related to transportation, membership in a group with high risk in the event of infection, or other external factors may determine the capability of many faculty and PIs to return to campus. As a result, faculty and PIs should consider whether individuals or groups in a unit will be disadvantaged by their decision because of external factors and propose mechanisms to mitigate hardships (e.g., time of work, days of work, etc.).

To help formulate mitigation strategies, family accommodations resources for academic personnel are available online. To further assist with child care, a Knock-Around Camp will be offered by Recreation during the Spring Quarter.

Safety Considerations

Anyone working in person on campus must continue to abide by the full set of public health requirements, including daily symptom-screening, masking, social distancing, and weekly testing. Faculty and researchers should be mindful of the particular transmission risks associated with eating in an indoor breakroom or lunchroom.

Anyone newly returning to work on campus will need to first complete the “COVID-19 Return to Work” online training offered in the UC Learning Center. This 15-minute training fulfills our California OSHA requirements.

Staffing Considerations

Faculty and PIs should be aware that staff who are working successfully remotely will not return to campus before May 31 at the earliest. Plans for a safe return of campus staff are in development now and will be announced before May 31. As we reimagine the workplace to support staff engagement, we will continue to explore innovative and flexible work approaches through the lenses of equity, quality of life and sustainability.

Student Researchers Considerations

Students may be included in a Research Ramp-Up plan if they are willing to participate. This includes students doing a substantial rotation in the PI’s lab or research program. Students may not be required or pressured to participate in person. For specific details, please see the Research Ramp-Up Guidelines.

Research Meetings Considerations

In-person research meetings are governed by the campus health safety rules outlined in the Research Ramp-Up Guidelines. REMINDER: In-person meetings are not permitted while the county is in the purple tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Faculty and PIs should be aware that this opportunity to increase on-campus presence does not apply to course meetings (whether they are lectures, labs, discussions, seminars, or any other format). Course meetings in our classrooms and instructional labs/studios are governed by the registrar’s scheduling system. All of our teaching for Spring Quarter is still remote or in the outdoor classrooms only (with a few exceptions for low-occupancy laboratory courses previously approved to be indoors).

Faculty and PIs should be aware that this opportunity to increase on-campus presence does not apply to any other kinds of meetings or events. Advising meetings, department meetings, office hours, or other meetings and events must still be held remotely.

Next Steps

Any faculty member or PI wishing to do research or academic work on campus must either complete the Work Health Registration form (for individuals returning to work individually in their private offices) or the Research Ramp-Up form (for those bringing team members including undergraduate and graduate students, research staff, or postdocs back to on-site work). Those with existing Research Ramp Up plans should revise them to include all members of their research groups, including those who have been working remotely. Please review the Research Ramp-Up Guidelines for further details.

Upcoming Town Halls

Two town hall meetings are scheduled for faculty and researchers in the coming weeks.

Note, registrations require single sign-on. Please use your @ucsd.edu Active Directory credentials, not @health.ucsd.edu or @eng.ucsd.edu.

Elizabeth H. Simmons
Executive Vice Chancellor

David A. Brenner
Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences

Sandra A. Brown
Vice Chancellor for Research

Margaret S. Leinen
Vice Chancellor for Marine Sciences