Jul. 2, 2021
Message from President Jim Wohlpart
Dear Colleagues,
In order to protect the health and safety of our campus community, Central Washington University has determined that the best approach to reopening our campus in the Fall 2021 Quarter is to require vaccinations for all employees and students, with exemptions for medical and religious/philosophical reasons, pending approval of the vaccines by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This decision follows the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the state of Washington Department of Health, and the local Kittitas County Public Health Office. We now have a series of other decisions that need to be made that will require communal input and feedback.
In order to elevate our work together around the challenges of safely reopening campus for mostly in-person instruction, we are establishing a new framework for our deliberations that will incorporate the voices of representatives from across the campus community.
First, we will carry forward our work from the past with a slightly reconfigured COVID-19 Fall 2021 Planning Committee that will meet weekly to review guidelines from the CDC, as well as state and local offices, in order to make science-based decisions about the future. The Fall Planning Committee will be co-chaired by Gail Mackin, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and Gregg Heinselman, Dean of Student Success. The Committee will include a representative from Human Resources, Government Relations, Faculty Senate, Student Government, and the Kittitas County Public Health Office, and will be supported by our Project Management Office. The Fall Planning Committee will meet weekly.
The Committee will provide information and data to the second group, the COVID-19 Fall 2021 Planning Task Force, which will include the Fall Planning Committee along with members of our various shared governance groups across campus, including:
|
Academic Department Chairs Organization |
Public Health faculty representative |
|
Classified Staff |
Public Affairs |
|
Diversity Council |
Student Health Services |
|
Emergency Health and Management |
United Faculty of Central |
|
Exempt Staff |
University Centers |
The Fall 2021 Planning Task Force will discuss information gathered by the Fall Planning Committee and be responsible for assisting in the development of draft recommendations for review by the Executive Leadership Team (formerly the President’s Cabinet). The Task Force will meet biweekly initially and will consider how we will move forward with vaccination requirements and other related matters. The co-chairs of the Fall Planning Committee will meet regularly with the Executive Leadership Team in order to bring recommendations forward and make final decisions. The Executive Leadership Team will be responsible for making all final decisions.
Please keep in mind that because of the dynamic nature of the pandemic, information and plans are subject to change at any moment based on new data, state and county recommendations, and federal guidelines. As a result, please look for regular communications from the Committee and Task Force, with opportunities for you to provide feedback and input.
The past year and a half have been challenging ones for everyone at the university, and we have a great deal of healing that we need to do as we come back together. To do so will require leadership based on strong, collaborative teams that lead with both our minds and our hearts, building solid personal and professional relationships. Working together we can develop the systems and tools that will ensure the continued success of our university.
I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can in the coming months and working with you as we transition to more normal operations.
Sincerely,
Jim Wohlpart
President
Dear Colleagues,
In order to protect the health and safety of our campus community, Central Washington University has determined that the best approach to reopening our campus in the Fall 2021 Quarter is to require vaccinations for all employees and students, with exemptions for medical and religious/philosophical reasons, pending approval of the vaccines by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This decision follows the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the state of Washington Department of Health, and the local Kittitas County Public Health Office. We now have a series of other decisions that need to be made that will require communal input and feedback.
In order to elevate our work together around the challenges of safely reopening campus for mostly in-person instruction, we are establishing a new framework for our deliberations that will incorporate the voices of representatives from across the campus community.
First, we will carry forward our work from the past with a slightly reconfigured COVID-19 Fall 2021 Planning Committee that will meet weekly to review guidelines from the CDC, as well as state and local offices, in order to make science-based decisions about the future. The Fall Planning Committee will be co-chaired by Gail Mackin, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and Gregg Heinselman, Dean of Student Success. The Committee will include a representative from Human Resources, Government Relations, Faculty Senate, Student Government, and the Kittitas County Public Health Office, and will be supported by our Project Management Office. The Fall Planning Committee will meet weekly.
The Committee will provide information and data to the second group, the COVID-19 Fall 2021 Planning Task Force, which will include the Fall Planning Committee along with members of our various shared governance groups across campus, including: