COVID-19 ALL CUPPA UDATE 3/17/2020

From Dean Pagano

Good Evening CUPPA Faculty, Staff, and Students,

We are closely monitoring the national public health measures and our university actions regarding the COVID-19 virus and will keep you informed of the latest information from UIC. We’ve all had to shift and flex and shift again. I continue to keep all of our students, faculty, staff, families, and friends in my thoughts as we work within this situation and do our best to adjust. Please thoroughly read all information sent to you from UIC and CUPPA as it will make your life easier as we move forward.

 

NEW INFORMATION

• All UIC Commencement Ceremonies have been cancelled. University of Illinois President Killeen along with each campus chancellor have sadly announced that due to the COVID-19 virus, commencement ceremonies will not take place this spring. Diplomas will be mailed and each campus is exploring ways in which to honor the Class of 2020. You may read President Killeen’s email here. We are all so disappointed about this but fully understand that protecting our loved ones is of utmost importance.

Any student who has pre-ordered their regalia via Jostens will be refunded. Jostens is currently working on the process to refund individual students. There are approximately 1,900 orders for our campus in their system and we are not their only school, so it will take some time.

There will be no CUPPA Student Showcase this year.

•• CUPPA Hall and the CUPPA Front Desk (Dean’s Office, Suite 115, CUPPAH) WILL BE CLOSED. For the health and safety of all faculty and staff, all CUPPA work will be shifted remotely.

Both Art and Exhibition Hall (AEH) and CUPPA Hall will be swipe access only through March 30, at this point.

Questions or issues regarding the building may be sent to the cuppafrontadesk@uic.edu and will be monitored/answered as soon as possible. Should anyone have trouble with their i-cards for building entry, send a note to cuppafrontadesk@uic.edu.

Our CUPPA Hall computer labs on the 1st and 2nd floors will remain open. Just use your i-card access to enter the building – even during the two weeks of Spring Break. We have instituted practices of social distancing in the Lab and Lab Suburbs (by closing 15 computers to create social distance) along with cleaning wipe stations available upon entrance and use before touching the keyboards. Purell is located on each floor near the elevators and near the Lab and Lab Suburbs.

••• Effective March 16, face-to-face instruction has been suspended for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester to limit transmission of the virus. You may read more here.

 

REMINDERS 

  • Spring break has been extended from March 16 through March 27. No classes are permitted to be convened; no exams given, no required assignments can be due during that time period. Classes resume Monday, March 30.
  • There will NOT be an extended week of classes to make up for the extra spring break week.
  • UIC’s plan is to maintain the current calendarfor end of semester and final exams; instruction ends on May 1, final exams May 4-8.
  • All staff should work with their supervisors to identify if work can be done remotely by following theprocedures outlined by the Office of Human Resources.
  • CUPPA’s academic advising will continue– even during the two weeks of Spring Break. The university is not closed, which means faculty, graduate assistants, and staff and are still working – just remotely in most cases. Please contact your advisor to set up a meeting in a way that best fits – whether virtual, telephone, email, skype, etc.

 

Again, our greatest concern is for the well-being and safety of our students, faculty, and staff. Thank you for your patience, flexibility, and support. Our CUPPA website will provide real-time updates as quickly as possible and the UIC COVID-19 news website does as well.

Keep informed on the latest correct information about COVID-19 and how we mitigate its spread and damage via the Centers for Disease Control, the City of Chicago , and the State of IL Department of Public Health.

Please reach out to Jodi White Jones, assistant dean for communication, jmwhite@uic.edu, or to me, mapagano@uic.edu, any time if you have additional questions or concerns.

Thank you and stay well!

Dean Pagano

Michael A. Pagano
Dean, UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs  http://cuppa.uic.edu
412 S. Peoria St. (MC 350)
Chicago, IL 60607
312-413-3375

CUPPA: Promoting Just, Resilient, and Livable Communities