Torrey Lawrence, University of Idaho’s interim provost and executive vice president, hosted the first in a series of six bi-weekly Talks with Torrey over Zoom today. The one-hour-long Q&A style discussions are intended to answer questions and discuss topics relevant to UI staff and faculty.
Lawrence, who was hired in the place of John Wiencek, has worked with UI since 1998. He was originally a faculty member in the Lionel Hampton School of Music and has held various administrative roles at UI since then. Lawrence began his term as interim provost on May 4, according to the UI provost website.
This week, Lawrence provided information about plans for next fall semester, the state of furloughs, upcoming on campus events and more. Participants in the Zoom call were able to write questions in the chat function of the meeting.
Reopening campus
Lawrence began by clarifying whether faculty and staff members are being called back to campus on June 15. He said Idaho will likely enter Stage Four of Idaho Rebounds. This stage allows employees to return to in-person work instead of telecommuting.
“We are also not tied to the state to do exactly what they are requiring,” Lawrence said. “These are their guidelines and we need to follow them, but it doesn’t mean we can’t be more restrictive if needed or implement our own plans going forward.”
Lawrence said more guidance on what’s expected of faculty and staff upon their return will be provided at the beginning of next week. He said the administration is working to balance the wishes of staff and faculty members with the needs of UI as an institution.
These expectations are being adjusted from what would have been expected in a normal year, Lawrence said. However, everyone should be prepared to go back online at any point.
None of the guidelines or plans for reopening are set in stone, he said.
“This is an enormously complex question because we have people in many different locations with many different challenges,” Lawrence said. “We have to have different work needs, we have a number of personnel or HR-related issues. For example, we have some people that just would prefer to stay home and we have people really must stay home for health reasons.”
Enforcement of new regulations regarding face coverings and other COVID-19-related rules will be difficult, Lawrence said. The university will focus on educating campus community members on new regulations and addressing problems on a case-by-case basis.
Protocols and training for cleaning and sanitizing campus buildings have been kept up to date with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Lawrence said. Discussions are being held about how to continue cleaning throughout the day, including classroom spaces, during the fall semester. Some changes that will be noticeable include shields for public-facing offices and provided hand sprays and gels.
“The discussion is not ‘Well, we can’t afford that due to budget cuts,’ the discussion has been ‘We must do this to provide as safe an environment as possible,’” Lawrence said.
Lawrence also shared information on how various campus buildings will reopen over the course of the summer.
The library will likely open in stages, Lawrence said. There is no schedule set for this reopening yet, but he said a specific date of reopening may be set in the next week. It is possible the library will be open before the full opening of the university.
Other public-facing buildings, which include areas commonly accessed by the public, like the Bruce Pitman Center, will likely open ahead of research or academic buildings on campus, which are often only utilized by faculty, staff and students.
Fall semester
The fall schedule is currently under consideration, Lawrence said.
Some courses will transition from being offered in person to offered online. Other courses will be offered using a flipped, hybrid or hyflex model, which would utilize online and in-person coursework. Other suggestions have included rotating students, smaller class sizes and utilizing more online materials for instruction.
Lawrence said utilizing the Kibbie Dome and the ballrooms in the Bruce Pitman Center to maintain social distancing for larger courses is under consideration, but many larger courses will likely be hosted online.
UI is seriously considering the option of not returning to campus for in-person courses following Thanksgiving Break, Lawrence said. All remaining courses would be held online after that point to protect students from spreading illnesses caught after traveling home for break. Administering final exams and hosting commencement are two challenges to this plan the administration has yet to solve.
In comparison, Boise State University has announced its plan for fall semester, which includes a shift to online courses after Thanksgiving Break. Washington State University is considering a similar plan, Lawrence said.
Decisions affecting the fall schedule, including whether masks will be required on campus and adjusted room capacities, are being discussed, Lawrence said. He expects the schedule, which has about 4,000 sections of classes, to be mostly complete by mid or late June.
Status of the proposed furlough plan
UI announced a mandatory furlough plan May 11 in response to internal budget struggles and external budget concerns from COVID-19 and state budget cuts. UI President C. Scott Green held a town hall meeting May 23 to discuss concerns about the plan. As of now, the plan is in review by the Faculty Senate and Staff Council, Lawrence said. Green will make a final decision about the plan once feedback from these groups has been reviewed.
After the decision is made, affected staff and faculty members will be notified. The plan would begin at the start of the next fiscal year, on July 1, 2020.
Lawrence said he acknowledges the furlough has a significant financial impact on UI employees, but it is less than at some other institutions. The administration is trying to minimize the impact as much as possible, Lawrence said.
“What the furlough does is it saves jobs,” Lawrence said. “Now, if you take some of our average salaries, this furlough, as proposed, and the amount we’re looking to save through the furlough will save, depending on how you want to count an average of faculty or staff or both, somewhere in the range of 50 to 60 people’s full time jobs.”
Upcoming events
Event staff are currently evaluating how many people can be in the Kibbie Dome while maintaining social distancing. Face covering requirements will be addressed for individual events and exceptions will be made for those with health conditions which make wearing face coverings impossible.
“All of this planning for summer and fall, it’s all with a little asterisk saying, ‘This is subject to change’ depending on the situation,” Lawrence said. “If Latah County suddenly has a spike in COVID cases, we’re going to reevaluate what we’re doing and make adjustments if needed.”
The UIdaho Bound event on June 26 is currently expected to be held on campus, Lawrence said. Face coverings have been secured for all UI employees and guests attending the event. Lawrence said the event falls within the period requiring gatherings to include 50 participants or less. June 26 is the last day Stage Four of Idaho Rebounds, which allows gatherings of over 50 people. Online offerings for the event have been expanded.
“It won’t look the same as it’s looked before with large groups,” Lawrence said.
More information will be shared on the Aug. 1 commencement ceremony as it approaches, Lawrence said. Faculty are encouraged to RSVP for the ceremony along with friends and family of graduates. If capacity becomes an issue, Lawrence said the administration may consider asking faculty members to consider not attending to allow more families to attend.
“I think looking forward, our vision, we need to stay grounded in that land grant mission,” Lawrence said. “We need to really stick to looking at where we’ve been, but also where we’re going forward. I also see industry is going to change in our state. The needs of our state could change as we come out of this and I think we need to pay attention to it.”
The next Talk with Torrey will be held 11:30 a.m. June 17 over Zoom.
Lawrence encouraged participants in the Zoom call to submit suggestions to [email protected].
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]