Dear faculty,
Many of you have questions about how the University is responding to the evolving Covid situation, especially in light of the Delta variant. You are understandably concerned about the role of faculty in protecting everyone’s health and safety, beginning with your own. Many thanks to Faculty Council leadership for organizing the August 18 Faculty Town Hall, and many thanks to the faculty who attended. While many questions were addressed in the Town Hall, we want to share the responses as broadly as we can so that everyone has the same information, whether or not they attended the meeting. So, I’m writing today to reiterate some of the key points and to direct you to the relevant locations on
go.depaul.edu/covid.
Faculty, staff, and students are required to be vaccinated or apply for an exemption.
Everyone is required to wear a mask in all public buildings, regardless of vaccination status.
These two requirements led to a number of questions from faculty about their role in enforcing them in their classes. For answers to these questions, go to the
“Faculty Classroom Concerns” page of the
FAQ tab. The page also includes a link to the
“Guidance for Faculty on Class Attendance” document that I sent you in a previous message.
The
Resources tab of the website includes links to information on
reporting Covid cases,
obtaining and documenting vaccinations,
testing, and more. If you are interested in knowing more about additional steps DePaul has taken to help ensure our community’s health and safety, go to the
Public Health Measures tab.
Before the quarter begins, please review this information, and then watch for updates as this fluid situation changes.
The good news, at least as of Friday, August 27, is that the
Chicago Covid Dashboard is showing all the numbers moving in the right direction: cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are all going down, while the number of vaccinations administered continues to rise. This could all change, of course, but it appears that vaccinations and masking are making a difference. I’m proud that DePaul is helping with these efforts, and I’m grateful to you for doing your part.
We all wish we were in a different spot as we approach the start of a new academic year, but together we will work through whatever challenges the year brings us.
Sincerely,
Salma Ghanem, Provost