[Faculty] Faculty Council concerns and Mike Staten response

[Staten, Michael E - (statenm)]

Everyone,

Please see the string below for clarification on my email from earlier this afternoon.

Thank you.

Mike

Michael Staten | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Bart Cardon Associate Dean for Career and Academic Services
Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics
The University of Arizona
Forbes Hall, Room 211
The University of Arizona
PO Box 210036
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036
PHONE: 520.621.1932
statenm at email.arizona.edu<mailto:statenm at email.arizona.edu>
www.mikestaten.com<http://www.mikestaten.com>



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________________________________
From: Renquist, Benjamin J - (bjrenquist) <bjrenquist at arizona.edu>
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2021 8:19 PM
To: Staten, Michael E - (statenm) <statenm at arizona.edu>
Cc: Zeiders, Katharine Hunsdon - (zeidersk) <zeidersk at arizona.edu>; Skorupski, Kayle Jeanne - (kayleskorupski) <kayleskorupski at arizona.edu>
Subject: RE: Email to MS


Dear Mike,



Thank you for clarifying.  That will address the concerns that we heard.



Sincerely,



Ben



From: Staten, Michael E - (statenm) <statenm at arizona.edu>
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2021 8:17 PM
To: Renquist, Benjamin J - (bjrenquist) <bjrenquist at arizona.edu>
Cc: Zeiders, Katharine Hunsdon - (zeidersk) <zeidersk at arizona.edu>; Skorupski, Kayle Jeanne - (kayleskorupski) <kayleskorupski at arizona.edu>
Subject: Re: Email to MS



Ben and Katie.



I’m sorry that I didn’t make myself clear. In no way am I suggesting that you should feel any sort of pressure to teach unmasked.  On the contrary, I am trying to provide cover and support for those faculty who do not feel they can do their job effectively while teaching with a mask.  I haven’t heard anybody advocate for them or their students.  I have heard from several such faculty and I sympathize with their situation.



Unless and until the UA requires masking, this is my honest advice to faculty.  It is an individual decision until then.  I will distribute your concern and my reply to the distribution list shortly.



Sincerely,



Mike



Prof. Michael E. Staten

Bart Cardon Associate Dean for Academic Programs

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

University of Arizona

Forbes Hall, Room 211

Tucson, AZ 85721

520.621.1932

statenm at email.arizona.edu<mailto:statenm at email.arizona.edu>





Sent from my iPhone



On Jul 30, 2021, at 7:03 PM, Renquist, Benjamin J - (bjrenquist) <bjrenquist at arizona.edu<mailto:bjrenquist at arizona.edu>> wrote:



Dear Dean Staten,



We are emailing you as Faculty Council members (and have copied in our FC chair); since you’ve sent this email, we’ve received many concerned emails from faculty and staff in our units. Usually, we’d take this concern to Faculty Council to address, but Faculty Council does not convene during summer months.  In turn, we are reaching out to you directly to address this.



The email you sent states, “I’m willing to let instructional mission delivery be compromised only up to a point”.  And then follows up by proposing that faculty “strongly consider teaching this semester without a mask if they think their instructional style and the nature of the subject matter would be significantly compromised via masked delivery”.  Given that CDC now recommends masking independent of vaccination status, this e-mail contradicts the recommendations of our best infectious disease experts.  It further goes directly against the “strongly recommended” use of masks for indoor and group activities that was included in the .ppt file you attached to his e-mail.  This powerpoint was created by public health experts at the University of Arizona.



Related, we can envision no subject in which a mask would compromise delivery.  We further feel that when read as a whole, this e-mail suggests that you believe masks will affect the instructional mission and that you will not let that happen.  We are very concerned that instructors may inadvertently believe they will be punished if they chose to instruct with a mask.



We are reaching out to ask you to please clarify your email and advise that all instructors follow CDC recommendations and wear a mask while teaching. Our instructors should be supported in following CDC guidance to keep themselves, their loved ones, and the Tucson community healthy.



Sincerely,



Benjamin Renquist and Katie Zeiders








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