Provost's Announcements
I report on two matters: Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action and the bargaining process. We have proposed an appeals panel composed of individuals who are not part of the University to hear cases on a rotating basis.
With the Graduate Workers of Columbia-UAW strike having begun, despite hundreds of hours of negotiation and much already settled, a series of clarifications seems imperative.
The University has started active planning to expeditiously resume as many research operations as possible, and has thus adopted the Columbia Framework for Restarting Research. So doing, safety and health considerations will take precedence.
In light of COVID-19, the University has had to evaluate its economic choices. For now, we have taken a series of initial steps. The most notable, and painful, include an academic and administrative hiring freeze with only rare exceptions.
After thinning out the campus and ramping down research, the Provost shares, in broad outline, information about how the University is trying to maintain its balance and stability.
As the University responds to COVID-19 by working to reduce on-campus populations, it is imperative to rapidly ramp down most of our on-site, in-person research activities.
In light of public health circumstances, libraries are closed until further notice. Colleagues are working diligently to support teaching, scholarship, and research throughout current interruptions.
In light of the transition to a virtual learning environment, this announcement to faculty offers guidance on teaching, class arrangements, and related issues.
Students in countries designated as CDC COVID-19 Risk Levels 1, 2 or 3, should return to their permanent residence (or a safer location). Students on study abroad programs in countries with a rising number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases should seriously consider returning home.
Columbia affiliates are strongly urged to postpone non-essential international travel. For students, all upcoming international travel that is organized, led, or financed by Columbia is suspended until further notice.
As the situation related to the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus continues to develop, the ability of some students to participate in academic activities may be affected.
Columbia is monitoring information and expert recommendations regarding the outbreak of a 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) first detected in Wuhan, China.