7/31 Status Report on the Reopening of CUPPA Hall and AEH

SENDING ON BEHALF OF DEAN PAGANO:

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Dear CUPPA Faculty, Staff, and Students,

Yesterday, the UIC Campus released the “Circle Back to Campus Plan” containing comprehensive information on the return to campus this fall in the age of COVID-19. I would encourage everyone to review the information available here.

As Chancellor Amiridis stated, UIC’s plan aligns with city, state, and federal guidelines and, “covers everything you need to know including personal health and safety, academics and instruction, technology and related resources, research, campus life and more.”

As of this moment, CUPPA is specifically waiting on the Fire Marshal’s approval of our CUPPA Hall and AEH room capacities and the arrival of PPE for our building. Once that occurs, we will receive approval of our CUPPA Pandemic Recovery Annex, which contains similar information to the campus plan but applies directly to our college. Thank you for your patience as we work on the safe return to CUPPA Hall and AEH and special thanks to the CUPPA Building Reopening Committee chaired by Associate Dean Kelly LeRoux.

Building Closed Until Approval

CUPPA Hall and AEH will remain closed until mid-August or sooner depending on Fire Marshal, PPE (hand sanitizer, etc) arrival, and the Recovery Annex approval.

Faculty/staff offices may be accessed for retrieval of items but not for extended stay. No visitors are permitted until further notice. Masks MUST be worn at all times in any public space in CUPPA Hall or AEH (i.e anywhere but when you are alone in your own office).

All CUPPA offices will remain staffed and operating virtually during business hours, 8:30 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Please contact the CUPPA Front Desk, cuppafrontdesk@uic.edu, if you intend on entering the building at any point.

CUPPA Pandemic Recovery Annex In Brief

As I mentioned in early July, the following public health safety measures will be in place once the building re-opens:

Wellness Screening

When the building reopens, all CUPPA faculty, staff, students, and guests (i.e. anyone who enters CUPPA Hall or AEH 2nd Floor) will use a campus designed Enhanced Passive Strategy of Self-Screening with Supervision. Employees will take their temperature and report it on a web-based form along with answering several basic wellness questions here. All CUPPA employees (faculty, staff, students, GAs, RAs, TAs, student workers) will be required to complete the form within 30 minutes of entering the building. CUPPA Hall and AEH are accessible via I-card only. Completion of the form is linked to the employee’s I-card access. If an employee swipes into the building but does not submit the form within 30 minutes, an email alert is sent to the respective unit’s designated monitor.

Wellness checks will also be required for all students and visitors when the building opening is approved. A contactless thermometer will be available on each floor of CUPPA Hall and the second floor of AEH. More detailed instructions regarding the wellness screening procedures will be emailed and available on the CUPPA website when the building is officially open.

Physical Distancing

  • Building access control via I-card only,
  • Installation of Plexiglas barriers at reception desks and in appropriate offices,
  • New signage on classroom and conference room doors indicating new capacity limits,
  • New signage in elevators and select hallways and floors indicating social distancing marks.

Personal Protective Measures

EVERYONE will be required to wear their own masks in common spaces of the building, including hallways, restrooms, foyers, conference rooms. Everyone must be masked entering and exiting the building, and anytime outside of their individual office space. Should someone enter your individual office space, both you and the visitor are required to be masked. A limited supply of disposable masks will be available if a mask is forgotten or needed by a visitor.

Cleaning and Disinfecting

Hand sanitizer dispensers will be located outside the elevators on each floor and in all “high touch” areas, including inside suite/unit doors. Facilities Management staff have heightened cleaning protocols for washrooms and common areas. Faculty and staff are responsible for cleaning and sanitizing their own work stations and should not share workspaces. Graduate research assistants will be assigned non-shared cubicles.

All employees who can work remotely may continue to do so at their own discretion. Because of the uncertainty regarding the reopening of K-12 schools into the fall, changes in child care, elder care, and other circumstances, CUPPA fully embraces remote working options and respects the decision of each employee.

Stay tuned for more information, which will be emailed and posted on our CUPPA Covid-19 website.

Thank you for wearing your mask,

Mike

Michael A. Pagano
Dean, UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs