Academic Senate

Academic Senate Executive Office Remote Operations Update

August 09, 2021

Since mid-February 2020, the Academic Senate Executive Office has functioned with remote-only operations for all its activities. During this time, senate leadership, committees, and executive office staff have collaborated to facilitate and sustain an as smooth-as-possible transition for faculty, students, and staff participating in shared governance – and have done so with excellence.

The global pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we conduct our work, and the Academic Senate Executive Office will – with some exceptions that I will note below – maintain remote operations through December 31, 2021. Similar to other campus units we are planning and revising our plans based on news and information we receive regarding best practices for safe and efficient versions of on-campus operations.

Remote operations mean that Senate business, functions, and activities (e.g., meetings, hearings, program review site visits, day-to-day professional work) occur in an exclusively remote environment (e.g., via Zoom). At the same time, we will maintain the option, and adhere to campus safety procedures, for in-person activities when it is safe, more efficient, or more effective to do so (e.g., a P&T hearing, potentially some aspects of academic program review site visits).

Now for the exceptions.

As you know, beginning September 1, 2021, campus will officially begin the careful process of opening back up more fully. So, we are planning to have an in-person component for those who are comfortable for Faculty Research Lecture talks.

The staff in the Academic Senate Executive Office, like staff across campus, have been dedicated to high standards of professionalism and community in collaborating with our colleagues and partners locally and Systemwide. Like always, staff are available and responsive via email and phone; and are willing and available to schedule Zoom calls when facetime is necessary.

I look forward to providing future updates as we all navigate what appear to be better yet still challenging times.

I include some additional reminders of links to resources on campus that relate to COVID-19 and return to campus guidelines.

• The XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning are available for consultation as you plan and develop your Fall courses. Many helpful resources on the Keep Teaching site which has grown and improved since it was first launched in Spring 2020. These include information on classroom technologies and video capture, developing testing strategies beyond traditional high stakes exams that can improve assessment approaches for some classes.
• To also better hear faculty concerns and questions about the upcoming academic year and beyond, I will hold Division Chair office hours on alternating Fridays in the Fall quarter. A schedule with links will be posted in September. Please also reach out by email (jason.stajich@ucr.edu).
• The EHS COVID-19 resources site has additional information for safety and guidelines on return to campus and in-person teaching. Additional information about the work Facilities is doing to make the campus as safe as possible is on their site including current HVAC monitoring in building and filtration upgrades.