March 23 update from the dean
Author: Amy Juhnke
Author: Amy Juhnke
Dear LAS Colleagues:
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world and in the United States, we all have a responsibility to protect the health and safety of ourselves, our families, our co-workers and our communities as best as we can. Social distancing is an important strategy to help achieve this goal, and yesterday’s announcement asking all employees to work from home, to the maximum extent possible, is designed to support social distancing.
Let me share a few general comments to help guide us through the next few weeks. Adaptability, flexibility and good communications will be key.
Everything we do is guided by our goals: First, to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff; and second, to provide academic continuity for our students so that they can finish out the semester.
Working remotely is a considerable change in operations for our college. Please take it seriously and consult with your department chair or supervisor about how this will affect you and your work responsibilities.
A good resource can be found here: https://www.it.iastate.edu/remotework. Your chair or your IT professional can help get you set up.
As faculty prepare to shift to online instruction, please keep the experience of your students up front and center. Not every student has broadband access, and not everyone has a laptop. Keep things simple.
The day-to-day operations of our research programs will be significantly affected by the need to work remotely. For some faculty, this will involve minimal changes. For others, it will involve refocusing efforts, at least temporarily, to work that can be done remotely. We aim for very few, if any, people in research laboratories. Please consult with your department chair on what is reasonable and what is not under the new work-from-home policy, and keep the overall goal of everyone’s health and safety in mind. We will share more guidance as it becomes available.
As we all adjust to these dramatic changes, please remember that things will be different and that they will not – and need not – be perfect. I hope you will keep a sense of perspective, practice all health precautions and find time to relax – even as you juggle a new temporary working arrangement, possibly with kids home from school for several weeks. Please do let me know of any concerns or how we can help. Continued communication will be key as we learn more every day.
In the meantime, thank you for your continued good work and for playing a positive role in the LAS and Iowa State community.
My best wishes for continued good health and well-being,
Beate