Dear Faculty,
Here is a link to our previous communication sent in December regarding the administration’s decision to delay enforcement of the Covid 19 vaccination mandate until the end of spring semester. We are resending it as some Faculty may have missed it during the busy period at the end of fall semester.
As I wrote then, the purpose of vaccine mandates is to ensure the health and safety of everyone on all of our UC campuses, and there is no dispute that the higher the vaccine rates, the safer our community will be. This decision to delay enforcement of this policy sent a message that the Administration does not value the safety of UC faculty, staff, or students.
In the wake of this December communication, Dean Ferme offered and I agreed to schedule regular meetings to better communicate on issues such as this. The initial meetings have been productive.
We expect that UC will keep the vaccination deadline at the end of this current semester. Although Covid 19 numbers are currently declining, this is still an unprecedented health risk and a serious concern to the overwhelming majority of Faculty.
In Solidarity,
Connie Kendall Theado