Required COVID-19 Language for Offer and Reappointment Letters for Academic Personnel (Revised)

Since the University has announced that all academic personnel must be vaccinated, we have revised the COVID paragraph which needs to be included in all offer and reappointment letters for faculty, officers of research, and officers of the libraries. Please start using the paragraph below immediately in all the letters you prepare:

For All Faculty:

The University has announced that COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for all University faculty, officers of research, officers of the libraries, and students and that full vaccination should be completed as soon as possible. In addition, faculty and students will meet in person for all class sessions this fall. To enable you to comply with the vaccination mandate and teach in person, your departmental administrator will alert you once your appointment has been updated in the Human Resources system. At that time, you should reference https://covid19.columbia.edu/content/columbia-university-vaccination-attestation-tutorial to obtain the procedure for uploading your vaccination attestation. It is imperative that you follow these guidelines as soon as you are notified since proof of your vaccination will be required to give you access to the campus.

In addition, all faculty returning to campus must comply with the basic public health protocols that define Columbia’s approach to protecting the safety of the community. These include the following:

1. Gateway testing before return, if you have not been on campus since January 2021
2. Online Return-to-Work Training
3. Daily symptom self-check through the ReopenCU app
4. Participation in surveillance testing if and when the University implements an ongoing testing regimen
5. Continued observance of all protocols including wearing face coverings and maintaining physical distance when applicable.

For more information, please see the University COVID-19 website at https://covid19.columbia.edu/. Compliance with these measures is mandatory. The health of all depends upon our collective and ongoing commitment.

For All Officers of Research and Officers of the Libraries:

The University has announced that COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for all University faculty, officers of research, officers of the libraries, and students and that full vaccination should be completed as soon as possible.

All officers of research and officers of the libraries returning to campus must comply with the basic public health protocols that define Columbia’s approach to protecting the safety of the community. These include the following:

1. Gateway testing before return, if you have not been on campus since January 2021
2. Online Return-to-Work Training
3. Daily symptom self-check through the ReopenCU app
4. Participation in surveillance testing if and when the University implements an ongoing testing regimen
5. Continued observance of all protocols including wearing face coverings and maintaining physical distance when applicable.

For more information, please see the University COVID-19 website at https://covid19.columbia.edu/. Compliance with these measures is mandatory. The health of all depends upon our collective and ongoing commitment.