Dear Lawrentians,
We offer a heartfelt thank you to all faculty, staff, and students who made it through an academic year unlike any other in recent history.
Everyone approached their work and studies with compassion, innovation, and creativity to end the year on a high note. We also greatly appreciate everyone’s ongoing individual and collective efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Two weeks ago, we introduced the campus to the Lawrence Pandemic Planning Team (LPPT) and its five groups: Health, Curricular, Co-Curricular, Outside-In, and Employee & Legal Aspects. At that time, we shared that, upon the recommendation of the LPPT and following consultation with the Faculty Governance Committee and the Curriculum Committee, the Cabinet has decided to keep our existing fall academic schedule. Classes will begin on September 14, and exams will end before November 25 and the Thanksgiving holiday. A final decision regarding the mode of instruction for fall term will be announced by the end of July.
Today we write to provide you with additional updates on the LPPT’s work:
Health Group
- A first draft of social distancing guidelines for the fall is currently under review.
- Members of the team are currently in negotiations with health partners in Northeastern Wisconsin to institute campus-wide testing and contact tracing. We hope to finalize a partnership within the next two weeks.
- New campus cleaning protocols have been instituted to decrease person-to-person contact. For example, custodial staff are focused on cleaning common spaces, and individual offices and departments have received supplies of cleaning products, along with cleaning instructions.
- Plexiglass barriers have been installed in several high-traffic areas, such as Brokaw Central and Chapman Hall, to help decrease the transmission of viral droplets. Additional barriers will continue be installed over the summer.
- Signage and other physical reminders about health and safety protocols have been posted around campus, with more planned for the fall.
- All campus buildings with a central ventilation system will be outfitted with new filters that exponentially increase air filtration and will help to disrupt viral contagion. Many systems across campus will be recalibrated to increase outside air flow.
- The team is currently investigating an advanced air purification process, bipolar ionization, to provide better air quality in ventilated buildings. A test implementation will take place over the summer to determine if the process is worthy of investment.
Curricular Group
- Thanks to David Berk, a new web page is available that provides information on instructional spaces and models to accommodate CDC-recommended social distancing guidance. This remains a work in progress—measurements for all of our instructional spaces are ongoing, and we plan to include spaces in our fall room inventory that are not typically used for instruction.
- Briggs 420 is currently set up as a socially distanced classroom, and faculty and staff are encouraged to visit the room as a preview for the fall.
- We are adding technology to several classrooms so that we can ensure that in-person and distance learning modes are available.
- We are exploring the expansion of hours of instruction to accommodate classes that may need multiple sections or a constraint on classroom availability.
- We are considering a schedule in which the two midterm reading days would be distributed throughout the term as single days without instruction, to provide breaks in the calendar for faculty, staff, and students. A decision on this option will be made soon.
Co-curricular Group
- We are adding rooms to residence halls across campus by converting lounges and other gathering areas into living spaces.
- Small Exec (813 E. John Street) and multiple houses north of the Conservatory are being reserved for potential student isolation needs.
- We are exploring ways to integrate new health protocols into the daily lives of Lawrentians and our overall campus culture.
- We are exploring what move-in and Welcome Week look like in Full, Flex, and Distance mode.
Outside-In Group
- A university “Guest” will be defined as anyone who is not currently enrolled, employed by, or contractually affiliated with Lawrence University or the Lawrence Community Music School.
- We are currently in the process of finalizing a guest registration form and creating a protocol for its administration.
Employee & Legal Aspects
- On June 15, we welcomed a about a quarter of our administrators and staff back to campus as we institute the first of a multi-phase process to return more employees to on-campus work. Phase one is outlined in the Return to On-Campus Work for Non-Essential Staff.
- Additional guidelines on the next return-to-work phases will be forthcoming in preparation for the fall term.
- We are crafting guidelines to assist employees in their decision-making on returning to on-campus work.
- Frameworks are being developed for equitable access to flexible work arrangements to help employees manage work, health, family, and other responsibilities.
- We are working to understand and manage institutional legal responsibilities and potential liability associated with both on-campus and distance work.
If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback regarding the information shared above or other insights, please refer them to your supervisor or a member of the LPPT or contact coronainfo@lawrence.edu. Please also be sure to read the weekly LU Insider and visit the COVID-19 news blog for ongoing information and updates.
Thank you for your ongoing patience, cooperation, and work as we all learn to adapt and live with COVID-19.
Sincerely,
The LPPT