[CED/CD/EAT] FW: A MESSAGE FROM ICS: Begin operationalizing individual proposals w/ Re-Entry Planning Teams

[Silvertooth, Jeffrey C - (silverto)]

EAT and CEDs,

This is an FYI communication for you:

John Ivanoff is leading the Operations Section Chief for the UA Incident Command System (ICS) led by Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th U.S. Surgeon General.

The following questions come from a group of Associate Deans and Directors from across the UA campus that I have been working with for several months.  In the process of preparing for operational aspects of organizational transitions, we have generated a series of questions for the Provost’s University Transition Planning Team and the ICS.  The questions have been submitted without any response for the past few months.

John Ivanoff indicated earlier this week that not he nor anyone on his team had seen these questions.  In turn, he provided these responses right away.

Communications, leadership, and management are very important factors with any organization or operation.  Organizational problems develop with a breakdown on either one of these factors and this case is a good example.  As we know, it is an equal opportunity challenge.

So we are now beginning to experience some improvements in aspects of our university transition operations in terms of the communications, leadership, and management needed.

We have the responsibility of managing and directing the CES through this process.  In so doing, I am trying to gain coordination with these various UA entities involved.  Accordingly, I am trying to keep you all posted on the basic elements we all need.

Best regards,

Jeff


Jeffrey C. Silvertooth, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
Director for Extension & Economic Development
Division of Agriculture, Life, & Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
Forbes 301, Bldg. #36
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ       85721-0036
520-621-7205

From: Ivanoff, John - (jivanoff) <jivanoff at arizona.edu>
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2020 9:20 PM
To: Miguel-Stearns, Teresa M - (tmiguelstearns) <tmiguelstearns at arizona.edu>; Bryson, Barbara - (bwbryson) <bwbryson at arizona.edu>; Arora, Mona - (manand) <manand at arizona.edu>
Cc: Walker, Jael - (osegoj) <osegoj at arizona.edu>; Staten, Michael E - (statenm) <statenm at arizona.edu>; Wieland, Sarah J - (swieland) <swieland at arizona.edu>; Silvertooth, Jeffrey C - (silverto) <Silver at ag.arizona.edu>; Rodriguez, Dominic J - (drodriguez1) <drodriguez1 at arizona.edu>; Hernandez, Renee Dominguez - (reneed) <reneed at arizona.edu>; Salazar, Nicole J - (hinzen) <hinzen at arizona.edu>; Hakim, Iman A - (ihakim) <ihakim at arizona.edu>; warholak at pharmacy.arizona.edu; Heineking, David A - (heinekin) <heinekin at arizona.edu>; Chavez, Isabel M - (chavezi) <chavezi at arizona.edu>; Martin, Chante C - (chantemartin) <chantemartin at arizona.edu>; Flynn, Jenny - (flynnj) <flynnj at arizona.edu>; Lieberman, Steven A - (stevelieberman) <stevelieberman at arizona.edu>; Voorhees, Dorian L - (voorhees) <voorhees at arizona.edu>; Jones, Kimberly A - (kjones) <kjones at arizona.edu>; Hunt, Terry L - (tlhunt) <tlhunt at arizona.edu>; Perry, Pamela A - (pperry) <pperry at arizona.edu>; Koch, Thomas L - (tlkoch) <tlkoch at arizona.edu>; Heileman, Greg - (heileman) <heileman at arizona.edu>; Coursey, Marta - (mcoursey) <mcoursey at arizona.edu>; Perkins, Kevin - (kevinperkins) <kevinperkins at arizona.edu>; Elfring, Lisa K - (elfring) <elfring at arizona.edu>; Shreeves, Sarah - (sshreeves) <sshreeves at arizona.edu>; Cordery, Arlette Gladys - (arlette8) <arlette8 at arizona.edu>; Belle-Oudry, Deirdre A - (dbelle) <dbelle at arizona.edu>; Denno, Linda Lee - (ldenno) <ldenno at arizona.edu>; Liaupsin, Carl J - (liaupsin) <liaupsin at arizona.edu>; Bates, Nina A - (ninaari) <ninaari at arizona.edu>; Kopach, Christopher M - (ckopach) <ckopach at arizona.edu>; Carmona, Richard H - (rcarmona) <rcarmona at arizona.edu>; Lauber, Brian - (blauber) <blauber at arizona.edu>; Hughes, William - (williamhughes) <williamhughes at arizona.edu>; Sharp, Daniel G - (dgsharp) <dgsharp at arizona.edu>; Wilkinson, Bernadette - (bwilkins) <bwilkins at arizona.edu>; Won, Leah J - (leahwon) <leahwon at arizona.edu>; Marvin Slepian <chairman.syns at gmail.com>; Slepian, Marvin J - (slepian) <slepian at arizona.edu>; Blandeburgo, Alexander - (blandebu) <blandebu at arizona.edu>
Subject: Re: A MESSAGE FROM ICS: Begin operationalizing individual proposals w/ Re-Entry Planning Teams

Good evening all, here is part two of my answers to your questions.

1. To what extent will faculty, staff and students actually be tested, via venipuncture, for antibodies or antigen? ​Antigen testing will be provided to all faculty, staff, and students.  It is mandatory for all dorm residents.

2. When and where will this testing occur? What form will it take? Will the testing be one-time or ongoing? a. This includes questions regarding testing for Cooperative Extension personnel with > 500 working out across all 15 counties of Arizona. ​Testing will occur in different locations throughout campus however McHale Center has been most widely used.

3. Will students be tested for antibody or antigen on return to campus or in advance? ​Students are urged to be tested prior to coming to campus, however this is not mandatory.  The focus will be on antigen testing.

4. To what extent will an individual -- staff, faculty, or student -- have the liberty to choose to be on or off campus to engage and perform “their job” -- teaching, admin or learning? ​The president has stated he will not force anyone on campus.  If staff, faculty or students wish to stay home they may.  IN the case of employees of the University they will need to clear this request through their normal channels.

5. Will any biometry (e.g. temperature screening) be employed in building/venue entry - i.e. temperature testing upon entry? ​Unsure of this.  Logistics Section Chief may answer.

6. Who will be required to conduct the biometric tests (self vs college)? Will college staff be trained for this purpose? a. What record-keeping will be required? b. What are anticipated differences between Phoenix Biomedical Campus and Tucson, if any? ​Faculty will not be expected to conduct biometric tests unless it is part of their learning discipline.

7. Can the colleges depend on the work of the T3 WGs and incorporate into planning? Will these all be ready for us by August? Can Colleges develop their own screening that is in accord with and incorporates U Arizona general approaches and build on top of that? a. Group #2 is developing a daily wellness check that can be customized b. Group #4 is developing a Bluetooth-enabled contact tracing app. i. What will be UArizona contact tracing protocol? ii. If digital, how enforced and who will assume costs? c. Group #7 is developing a data management plan. Can we use if we build on UA testing? ​All T3 proposals submitted to ICS have been approved.  Any questions may be directed at their respective groups for clarification.

8. What is the action plan for the involved student, the remaining students, faculty and staff when someone gets COVID in your class? (Need clear plan to work that scenario.) ​This question was answered in my previous email.

9. What is the action plan for the involved individual, the remaining students, faculty and staff when someone gets COVID in your building/lab? (Need clear plan to work that scenario.) ​Again, this was answered in my previous email.

10. Will masks be required? a. Who will be policing masks? b. What will be our UA protocols? c. We need clear guidance. Working and Teaching ​Masks are required.  This was addressed in my first email to the group.

11. Is 6-foot rule for social distancing in interior spaces scientifically sound/consistent with best emerging evidence? How should this be enforced? Consequences/actions for not? ​This is a CDC guideline and is meant for short times (about 15 minutes) without a mask.  Wearing a mask and distancing help prevent the spread of the virus.  Enforcement for students will be via the Code of Conduct.  Faculty will be responsible for reporting such instances when necessary.

12. Will the university adopt the draft recommendation of maximum flexibility for faculty and staff and students? To what extent will an individual staff, faculty, or student have the liberty to choose to be on campus or off campus to engage in “their job” - teaching, admin or learning? a. Can we tell staff who can perform their jobs remotely that they may/should WFH this fall? b. Does each member of the faculty decide whether they prefer to teach remotely or live? ​Again, President Robbins has advised that no one will be forced to remain on campus to either learn or do their job.  If you are an employee of the University, you will need to follow proper notification guidelines of your desire to work remotely.

13. We will be asking staff and faculty about their comfort returning to campus, and asking faculty to assist in decisions about the format/modality of their Fall ‘20 course sections. Before we do that, can we get a very specific statement about what mitigation protocols will be in place, in order to help facilitate those conversations? Concerns are being voiced about what sorts of policies the university will have about masks, building access, lack of adequate ventilation in rooms, windows that are sealed shut, high touch surfaces, etc. So far all we have are draft documents by working groups. ​Every effort has been made to make the environments at the University as risk-free as possible.  There is no such thing as a completely safe environment.  Ventilation, cleaning, PPE, and distancing have all been carefully vetted and applied throughout the campus.

14. When can supervisors start having conversations with staff re who can WFH, who is required to be on campus, who can do both, etc., so that departments can begin planning for fall? a. Will formal accommodations be required for WFH arrangements? b. Will there be guidelines from HR about how supervisors should discuss reentry with their direct reports, what they can and cannot say, what reasonable accommodations look like for those who are not ready to return, etc.? Classrooms, Offices, Spaces: ​Those conversations can happen now.  Again, ensure that proper University protocols for WFH are followed and documented.

15. When will we have the room capacity for classrooms so we can plan the type of format/modality we can use for all of the sections offered by our colleges? ​The Teaching and Learning group along with SWRT have determined the classroom sizes.  Modality will be faculty specific.

16. What will be the square foot area per person to help determine occupancy rates in shared areas (libraries, for example), classrooms, and office areas? ​As of now it is 36 square feet per student.

17. What technology will be available in every room? ​It is unknown if "every room" will have the same technology.  However, a budget was prepared and technology was placed in classrooms to enable remote learning.

18. Will extra resources be available to support facilities mgmt and custodial teams and to staff on-site screening for temp/ other conditions of access? a. Is the university hiring more custodians? b. What is the realistic system of sanitizing large rooms? c. How will lounge areas with upholstered furniture be cleaned? frequency? ​It is unknown whether staff will be increased for the custodial personnel.  That is beyond ICS scope.  Cleaning will occur daily and is already in place.

19. Who is going to enforce the mask policy and other policies, such as one-way flow through buildings, maintaining safe distance from others, etc.? ​This has been addressed already in my previous email.

20. Is University exploring the creation of outdoor classroom spaces (in quad, tennis courts, athletic stadiums, etc.) that will be available for use by individual units? ​This has already been addressed in my previous email.

21. For Engineering (and probably other colleges), what is the student density? a. We are planning for hands on design and lab experience, and need to know how many students we can accommodate in those labs. b. We’ve heard ranges from 36 sq. feet up to 144 sq. feet. c. We cannot offer the on campus lab experience at 144 sq feet (that's a 12 x 12 room) ​Minimum spacing is 36 square feet per student.

22. How can exams be proctored? We did workarounds last spring, but at reduced quality. Engineering, law, others have a large practicum; we need the ability to proctor exams. Shared Planning: ​I have no answer to this as it is a faculty specific methodology used to proctor exams.  I believe this will be left to the individual colleges to figure out.

23. When can we expect to have various plans being made by the campus re-entry task force finalized? We understand that changing conditions will lead to changes in plans, but as colleges prepare to submit their own plans to central administration, it would be helpful if we could ensure that those plans are in accordance with University-level guidelines. ​All ICS plans have been approved.  It is unknown what the status is of the plans the provost has control over.

24. What teams are working on what for the UA? Why were the colleges asked to create plans, yet we weren’t told until recently that there are UA-level teams simultaneously creating guidelines? Shouldn’t those guidelines be established before we make college-level plans? For example, how do we engage in space/office planning until we know if staff will be permitted to WFH? Shouldn’t we have had this workshop four or five weeks ago to kick-off the college-level planning? ​Agreed that there has been a disconnect between the planning groups internally and with ICS.  ICS was never privy to any provost-controlled plans and were told everything was in place for the campus opening.

25. Will you please disseminate information to all of us equally? Up to this point there has been no systematic dissemination of information to us even though you’ve asked us to plan for our colleges. Not even the forums and drafts were shared with us directly. Documents continue to be shared haphazardly. Information is changing weekly if not daily. ​Dissemination of information is based on University protocols.  ICS communicates via a specific chain of command to the president.  I cannot answer on behalf of the provost or the colleges.

26. What discussions and mitigations exist for liability issues in bringing people back to campus? A clear outline of liability and limits to liability needs to be provided. ​Liability mitigation is the purview of the Office of General Counsel.  They have reviewed all ICS plans for liability issues which have been addressed to the plan authors.  Unknown if this has occurred on the provost side.

27. Will there be a comprehensive, campus-wide, online training session outlining all aspects of returning to campus before people are asked to return? ​The online training session should be available soon.  It was recently introduced to the ICS and approved.

28. To whom do requests for space modification (beyond plexiglass) go? E.g. to move staff who work in open spaces where it is not conducive to simply erect plexiglass and they are not in an optimal position to gate entry into the workspace/suite. 29. Will scheduling of rooms (deemed necessary by faculty after factoring in distancing limits that exceed currently allocated spaces) occur centrally? Do we submit to someone to schedule? Or will this be left to each individual College/Department to schedule?  ​This is out of the scope of ICS and cannot be addressed by us.

Again, I hope this information is helpful.  I appreciate everyone's input and wish you all a successful semester!

Sincerely,

John Ivanoff
Operations Section Chief
________________________________
From: Miguel-Stearns, Teresa M - (tmiguelstearns) <tmiguelstearns at arizona.edu<mailto:tmiguelstearns at arizona.edu>>
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2020 9:08 AM
To: Ivanoff, John - (jivanoff) <jivanoff at arizona.edu<mailto:jivanoff at arizona.edu>>; Bryson, Barbara - (bwbryson) <bwbryson at arizona.edu<mailto:bwbryson at arizona.edu>>; Arora, Mona - (manand) <manand at arizona.edu<mailto:manand at arizona.edu>>
Cc: Walker, Jael - (osegoj) <osegoj at arizona.edu<mailto:osegoj at arizona.edu>>; Staten, Michael E - (statenm) <statenm at arizona.edu<mailto:statenm at arizona.edu>>; Wieland, Sarah J - (swieland) <swieland at arizona.edu<mailto:swieland at arizona.edu>>; Silvertooth, Jeffrey C - (silverto) <Silver at ag.arizona.edu<mailto:Silver at ag.arizona.edu>>; Rodriguez, Dominic J - (drodriguez1) <drodriguez1 at arizona.edu<mailto:drodriguez1 at arizona.edu>>; Hernandez, Renee Dominguez - (reneed) <reneed at arizona.edu<mailto:reneed at arizona.edu>>; Salazar, Nicole J - (hinzen) <hinzen at arizona.edu<mailto:hinzen at arizona.edu>>; Hakim, Iman A - (ihakim) <ihakim at arizona.edu<mailto:ihakim at arizona.edu>>; warholak at pharmacy.arizona.edu<mailto:warholak at pharmacy.arizona.edu> <warholak at pharmacy.arizona.edu<mailto:warholak at pharmacy.arizona.edu>>; Heineking, David A - (heinekin) <heinekin at arizona.edu<mailto:heinekin at arizona.edu>>; Chavez, Isabel M - (chavezi) <chavezi at arizona.edu<mailto:chavezi at arizona.edu>>; Martin, Chante C - (chantemartin) <chantemartin at arizona.edu<mailto:chantemartin at arizona.edu>>; Flynn, Jenny - (flynnj) <flynnj at arizona.edu<mailto:flynnj at arizona.edu>>; Lieberman, Steven A - (stevelieberman) <stevelieberman at arizona.edu<mailto:stevelieberman at arizona.edu>>; Voorhees, Dorian L - (voorhees) <voorhees at arizona.edu<mailto:voorhees at arizona.edu>>; Jones, Kimberly A - (kjones) <kjones at arizona.edu<mailto:kjones at arizona.edu>>; Hunt, Terry L - (tlhunt) <tlhunt at arizona.edu<mailto:tlhunt at arizona.edu>>; Perry, Pamela A - (pperry) <pperry at arizona.edu<mailto:pperry at arizona.edu>>; Koch, Thomas L - (tlkoch) <tlkoch at arizona.edu<mailto:tlkoch at arizona.edu>>; Heileman, Greg - (heileman) <heileman at arizona.edu<mailto:heileman at arizona.edu>>; Coursey, Marta - (mcoursey) <mcoursey at arizona.edu<mailto:mcoursey at arizona.edu>>; Perkins, Kevin - (kevinperkins) <kevinperkins at arizona.edu<mailto:kevinperkins at arizona.edu>>; Elfring, Lisa K - (elfring) <elfring at arizona.edu<mailto:elfring at arizona.edu>>; Shreeves, Sarah - (sshreeves) <sshreeves at arizona.edu<mailto:sshreeves at arizona.edu>>; Cordery, Arlette Gladys - (arlette8) <arlette8 at arizona.edu<mailto:arlette8 at arizona.edu>>; Belle-Oudry, Deirdre A - (dbelle) <dbelle at arizona.edu<mailto:dbelle at arizona.edu>>; Denno, Linda Lee - (ldenno) <ldenno at arizona.edu<mailto:ldenno at arizona.edu>>; Liaupsin, Carl J - (liaupsin) <liaupsin at arizona.edu<mailto:liaupsin at arizona.edu>>; Bates, Nina A - (ninaari) <ninaari at arizona.edu<mailto:ninaari at arizona.edu>>; Kopach, Christopher M - (ckopach) <ckopach at arizona.edu<mailto:ckopach at arizona.edu>>; Carmona, Richard H - (rcarmona) <rcarmona at arizona.edu<mailto:rcarmona at arizona.edu>>; Lauber, Brian - (blauber) <blauber at arizona.edu<mailto:blauber at arizona.edu>>; Hughes, William - (williamhughes) <williamhughes at arizona.edu<mailto:williamhughes at arizona.edu>>; Sharp, Daniel G - (dgsharp) <dgsharp at arizona.edu<mailto:dgsharp at arizona.edu>>; Wilkinson, Bernadette - (bwilkins) <bwilkins at arizona.edu<mailto:bwilkins at arizona.edu>>; Won, Leah J - (leahwon) <leahwon at arizona.edu<mailto:leahwon at arizona.edu>>; Marvin Slepian <chairman.syns at gmail.com<mailto:chairman.syns at gmail.com>>; Slepian, Marvin J - (slepian) <slepian at arizona.edu<mailto:slepian at arizona.edu>>
Subject: RE: A MESSAGE FROM ICS: Begin operationalizing individual proposals w/ Re-Entry Planning Teams


Dear John,



Good morning. Just a few points about our many questions and our proposals/plans:



Attached please find two sets of questions we (the College chairs) submitted on June 4 and July 21 to Dr. Carmona, Provost Folks and Vice President Hunter. We never received a reply or an offer to have a discussion and talk through these questions. As the ICS, the Provost, and the College Deans all know, we, the College chairs, have been meeting weekly for months, sharing information and helping each other move forward.



Although some of these questions have now been answered to some degree in the last two weeks with the release of final university guidance published on various webpages, including those of Re-entry, HR, Campus Health, and in Box, there are still significant outstanding issues such as:

  1.  Whether there will be university-wide training for everyone returning to campus – the draft work group documentation since May has stated there would be, so we have been expending our energy elsewhere; now we hear there has been a hold-up due to a voice-over contract. Whatever is happening, the bottom line is that we have never be given an answer to this in all the times we’ve asked. We would think the University would want to create a uniform back to campus message as most other universities have done (e.g. UC-Boulder<https://www.colorado.edu/protect-our-herd/how#anchor1> months ago; ND<here.nd.edu> more recently). Yet we are now all preparing video trainings and other documentation at the College level – so inefficient and will naturally create inconsistencies across campus.
  2.  Whether Aug. 31 is still an aspirational date for Stage 2 – the message has gone from “watch the data” to Aug. 31 to “watch the data” without explicitly rescinding Aug. 31. Is it both? Are we still shooting for an Aug. 31 return? Should we plan on an Aug. 31 return as long as the data continues to improve?
  3.  Whether the university is planning use a responsibility pledge to bring together and emphasize a few key behaviors we need from every member of the community. We heard the university was preparing one; but we haven’t seen or heard anything about it. So we are prepared to submit ours to the College of Law community.
  4.  There is confusing around testing for students and employees; and around the procedure when there is a covid+ incident both in the classroom and in the workplace.  Guidance has been published recently but it’s been challenging to pull it all together and synthesize it for the College. This would make a perfect training video – what happens when a student is positive; what happens when an employee does.



These are just a few of the questions that come to mind. I’m sure there are more.



Finally, the subject line of this thread, “Begin operationalizing individual proposals” demonstrates, respectfully, a bit of disconnect with what is happening on the ground, at the college level – at least at the College of Law (I don’t want to presume to speak for the group). We submitted our proposal to the Provost 2 months ago. We received feedback. We revised our draft. Our New Safe Return Plan<https://law.arizona.edu/coronavirus-covid-19-response-information> is a public-facing document and it is operationalized. We have a Task Force implementing it. What’s also confusing is why you haven’t seen all our plans.



I hope this note is helpful to your understanding of where we are in this process. At the College of Law – and I suspect at most other Colleges and departments – we have been implementing our Plan for many weeks. We start classes today.



We look forward to meeting later today, to receiving answers to our outstanding questions, and to getting tips for operationalizing our Plan.



Teresa






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