Dear Infrastructure and Sustainability team,
I hope this note finds you well. I want you to know that your dedication over the past two months has been inspiring, and I’m so appreciative in the way our team has served the campus amid the COVID-19 challenges we’re all facing.
Chancellor DiStefano wrote the campus on Friday about the continued planning for fall, and I want to touch on a couple of the points in terms of what they might mean for Infrastructure and Sustainability.Ìý
One of those themes the chancellor noted was providing a campus experience that addresses COVID-19 risk mitigation. This will mean different things to different units in our broad and diverse Infrastructure and Sustainability team. For some of us, it will mean new duties to help keep the campus safe, such as the enhanced cleaning protocols we put in place early on during this pandemic. For many, it may mean wearing a mask to work, which would be a new situation for nearly all of us. As we know, there will likely be a phased approach in terms of when employees return to campus. Many of our team members may continue to work remotely for some time to help minimize the number of people interacting on campus. As a general rule, for now, all employees who can work from home will continue to work remotely.
The chancellor also wrote about providing flexibility for students, faculty and staff to participate equitably, whether in person or remotely. We will all have different needs in the coming months, both personally and professionally. Our Infrastructure and Sustainability leadership team and I will do our best to ensure that flexibility so that each of you is set up for success regardless of your specific circumstances and needs.
Finally, our campus leadership has also talked about the budget planning that has begun. Our I&S team, like all units on campus, is working on various budget scenarios to submit to campus so that we are prepared as we learn more about the state budget and our fall enrollment. Depending on the situation, these scenarios could have impacts on things like deferred maintenance, how we do master planning, and the integration of new software, as well as the potential for furloughs and layoffs. Care for our people is the top priority of myself and our I&S leadership team, and we will always make these difficult decisions from that basic premise.Ìý
Thank you again for your flexibility and positive approach to supporting the campus mission. I know these qualities are what will get our campus through this difficult time and strengthen our university going forward.
With gratitude,
David Kang, vice chancellor for infrastructure and sustainability
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