View from the Chancellor's Office

UNT World Faculty & Staff:

Now roughly one month into the fall semester, I’m happy to report that while nothing is flawless, our coronavirus safety protocols are working. Below is a summary of data we released on Sept. 18 as part of a formal public information request by the New York Times.

At UNT, the total number of COVID-19 tests completed as part of our university program is 3,403. This includes random testing and patient-requested testing performed at our Student Health & Wellness Center, as well as routine testing performed as part of our NCAA Division I athletics testing program. Out of these we have had just 69 positives. In addition faculty, staff and students have voluntarily reported 152 positive tests performed by others. Between UNT Dallas and UNT Health Science Center, we have less than 40 positive cases reported.

This good news doesn't mean we can put our guard down, as we've seen several institutions of higher education become coronavirus hot spots. Some positive COVID-19 cases are inevitable, but by continuing to follow safety guidelines we can continue to keep those numbers low. When positive cases occur, our contract tracing protocols will help isolate exposure and limit the spread of the virus – your support of these efforts is greatly appreciated.

UNT FOOTBALL AT HOUSTON CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 CONCERNS

We will continue to put the safety of our students, faculty, staff and communities first, and sometimes we will have to make hard choices UNT made the responsible decision to cancel this Saturday's football game at the University of Houston due to positive COVID-19 cases. Per Vice President & Director of Athletics Wren Baker: “Our student-athlete health and safety is the priority in every decision we make and that is what this difficult decision is based on. We are hopeful we can resume safe activities soon.” Thank you our system-wide coronavirus response team for creating and executing a plan that's keeping our students, faculty and staff as safe as possible during this challenging time.

VIRTUAL BOARD OF REGENTS MEETING IN NOVEMBER

The upcoming UNT System Board of Regents meeting on November 18-19 will be held virtually due to coronavirus, as we continue to follow the state’s guidelines for indoor gatherings of 10 or more during the pandemic. A link to view the board meeting via livestream will be posted to the UNT System web site prior to the meeting.

EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE

Fall means election season, and I'd like to encourage all of our eligible employees to exercise their right to vote. Voting brings us together as Americans and allows us to have a say in the future of our local community and country.

The deadline to register and be eligible to vote in the November 3, 2020 election is October 5, 2020. This can be either the postmark date or the date the application is received in the office of the voter registrar. You can obtain a voter registration application from your voter registrar's office, libraries, most post offices, and high schools. You can also fill out a voter registration application online or request a postage-paid application be mailed to you.

Thank you,

Lesa B. Roe
Chancellor

UNT System Faculty & Staff:

As the State of Texas continues to re-open in phases, our COVID-19 action team is working diligently on planning and implementing phased campus and office re-openings across UNT World. Each institution, as well as UNT System Administration, is committed to keeping students, faculty and staff safe with safety precautions such as additional sanitization measures, reallocation of spaces to enable social distancing, the continued use of remote learning/working when possible and the installation of signage to encourage social distancing, sanitization and other safety measures.

Currently most faculty and staff across UNT World are working remotely and that will remain the case for many this summer. If you are currently working remotely, you should continue to do so until instructed otherwise by your supervisor. Each UNT System campus and office is different, so it’s important to continue reading campus and/or location-specific announcements. Please visit with your supervisor for any questions on if/when you should be returning to the office.

While this situation remains fluid as coronavirus circumstances evolve, below is an update of what we know and where we are headed as a unified UNT System.

COVID-19 AND UNT WORLD: WHERE ARE WE TODAY

As our campuses and offices begin to open in phases, we are following COVID-19 safety guidelines provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). All relevant UNT System risk management guidelines can be found on the UNT System web site and each UNTS institution also has its own coronavirus web site with updates specific to that campus.

Below is a short status update for each UNTS institution and a link to each coronavirus web site that includes specific details by location.

UNT System Administration: https://www.untsystem.edu/covid-19

• Unless otherwise instructed by your supervisor, all UNT System Administration employees will continue to work remotely throughout the summer.
• Return-to-office plans are under review and will be announced in August. This will include return-to-work training.
• UNT System Administration employees that work as part of a campus team will generally adhere to guidelines specific to their campus location and should bring any questions to their supervisor.
• The August Board of Regents Meeting will be moved from UNT Health Science Center to a virtual format in order to maximize space usage on campus for students.

UNT: https://healthalerts.unt.edu/

• The UNT Union is open but operating with reduced hours until later this summer.
• The university has begun to phase in intercollegiate athletics activities with the return of football players for workouts.
• Research activity at the university began ramping up again a few weeks ago.
• For fall, UNT’s primary focus is offering as many in-person classes as possible while still providing a safe environment during COVID-19. Final plans for more than 12,000 courses will be announced by mid-July and this will impact how/when faculty and staff return to work.
• UNT students will not return to campus for classes after the 2020 Thanksgiving holiday. The end of the semester and final exams will be conducted remotely. This will not change UNT’s fall start date of Aug. 24.
• UNT Faculty and Staff are required to take online return-to-work training. A link to the course was recently distributed.

UNTHSC: https://www.unthsc.edu/coronavirus/

• HSC began a phased return to campus on June 8 for supervisors and June 15 for other team members as approved by their supervisors.
• All team members are required to complete a Campus Reentry Education module before returning to campus and remote work arrangements are encouraged where appropriate.
• A hybrid model of instruction will occur in the summer and fall.
• Campus-based, in-person learning will only occur for courses with academic outcomes that cannot be measured or achieved virtually, such as performance, laboratory, and clinical experiences.

UNT Dallas: https://www.untdallas.edu/covid-19-knowledge-center

• UNT Dallas will continue to offer all summer sessions in a completely virtual learning format and campus is largely closed.
• UNTD leadership is reviewing a proposed plan for Fall 2020 and will announce details to students, faculty and staff by July 1.
• The UNT Dallas College of Law Library in downtown Dallas is open to law school students who are preparing for the Bar exam.

COVID-19 AND UNT WORLD: WHAT’S NEXT?

As circumstance continue to change, the UNT System’s overall strategy for physical return to the workplace will remain gradual and driven by our business needs, with utmost consideration taken for the safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors. At all times the strategy will be focused on minimizing risk, while simultaneously optimizing our performance and the services we provide to our institutions. With this in mind, physical interaction will be minimized and the safety of the physical environment will be maximized.

As part of our long-term planning, we have formed a cross-institutional team to analyze business processes, organizational structures and strategic sourcing efforts to help us find sustainable ways to thrive over the long-term. From an economic standpoint we are planning responsibly based on the latest estimates of financial impact by COVID-19 and creating budget plans based on multiple scenarios. While enrollment for the fall remains positive, we continue to run financial models to understand negative impacts from potential losses in enrollment of both domestic and international students, student housing/dining fees, intercollegiate athletics revenue, summer camps and state funding.

Thank you for continued adaptability. We appreciate your support of these plans to ensure safety at our campuses and office facilities.

Lesa B. Roe
Chancellor

UNT World Team Members:

I hope you are well as conditions continue to evolve with the coronavirus threat – the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff remains the top priority across the UNT System.

The Dallas-Fort Worth region that all of our institutions call home has reported the largest number of COVID-19 cases in Texas, making it more important than ever to take precautions designed to help reduce the spread of the virus so our hospitals and healthcare clinics aren’t overwhelmed.

In line with Dallas County’s new shelter-in-place rules, which go into effect at 11:59 p.m. tonight, we will be closing all UNT System Administration offices for on-site access – remote working will continue.

Only security staff will remain in the building at 1901 Main Street in Dallas, beginning tomorrow, March 24. Similarly, UNT System Administration offices at the Business Services Center, Woodhill Square and Discovery Park in Denton will limit on-site staff to designated personnel only. To clarify, all UNT System Administration Offices will only be accessible to personnel designated as critical for continued on-site operations as determined by your Vice Chancellor or me – all other system administration personnel will continue to work remotely. With these operational adjustments in mind, any system administration team members impacted should retrieve needed items from their office today.

The 1901 Main Street closure includes the UNT Dallas College of Law library and all other CoL resources in that building – UNT Dallas police will arrange for security in the UNT Dallas Law Center at Old City Hall. In line with the Dallas County shelter-in-place order, UNT Dallas and the law school will be announcing operational updates later today.

While not bound by the same shelter-in-place guidelines as our Dallas County entities, UNT (Denton County) and UNT Health Science Center (Tarrant County), are similarly taking aggressive measures against the spread of COVID-19. Yesterday, UNT announced it will be reducing on-site staff to personnel designated as essential for continued campus operations by 5pm on March 24. UNT’s vice presidents are identifying designated on-site personnel who will be needed to serve remaining UNT students in residence halls and serve critical business continuity functions. UNT Health Science Center has similarly reduced its on-campus staffing to those that serve critical business continuity functions.

Each campus will determine its own essential on-site services and designated personnel. For UNT System Administration, designated on-site personnel are only those that are required on-site for continuity of operations. Again, employees designated as critical to these on-site operations will be determined by your Vice Chancellor or me. These decisions will focus on protecting the health of our employees and the general population, and will result in the absolute minimum on site population.

UNT System Human Resources has provided faculty and staff with guidance regarding working remotely, paid leave, emergency leave and safe working conditions for those designated as necessary for critical on-site operations – please note this HR guidance will continue to evolve based on the ever-changing nature of the COVID-19 threat and its impact on Texas, our system and member institutions. Please visit https://www.untsystem.edu/covid-19 to view these guidelines and other critical COVID-19 updates – this site is updated daily.

Thank you for your continued support of our proactive measures against the spread of COVID-19 as we strive to support public safety at the highest levels, while still fulfilling our missions to serve students. Our UNT World values – service, teamwork, trust, excellence – will continue to guide us through these challenging times.

Lesa B. Roe
Chancellor