For a safe Fall 2021 semester (and beyond)
Indiana University and Indiana University South Bend Administration
While everyone hopes for a return to "normal" this fall, that appears less and less likely. It is crucial that IU administration, faculty, staff, students, and local communities work together immediately to plan for the safest possible semester, that regional campuses have the power to lead in their regions, and that vaccines be required of anyone studying or working on our campuses this fall. (As of April 29, more than 100 colleges and universities, including the state systems in Massachusetts, Maryland, and California, have announced a vaccine requirement.)
To:
Indiana University and Indiana University South Bend Administration
From:
[Your Name]
April 20, 2021
To the IU community:
Members of the IU South Bend AAUP chapter have been pleased to see both IU President McRobbie and a high-profile public health scientist such as IUPUI's Dr. Carroll make strong statements about the importance of vaccination. We are further heartened to see the University of Notre Dame take an unequivocal stand that requires vaccination. Nationally, more and more universities—such as Rutgers, Duke, and Northeastern—are announcing the same.
It is our hope that IU and IUSB leaders, faculty, staff, students, and regional neighbors will agree: we need a comprehensive strategy that starts with mandatory vaccinations and includes required mask-wearing in indoor spaces.
Moreover, while vaccinations and masks are key, there are many other issues to be addressed. Given that the fall semester is only a few months away, and given that the pandemic is still surging locally and nationally, it is imperative that the following are addressed:
1. Leading by example and educating the public about the importance of vaccinations and continued vigilance. Each campus should take responsibility for, and have the resources to accomplish, reaching out to students and surrounding communities to disseminate the latest in scientific understanding of the COVID-19 virus and how to protect personal and public health.
2. Making decision-making processes through established means of shared governance: How are students, faculty, staff, and the community being invited to meaningfully participate in reopening plans? At least for IUSB, what is the plan to return to established shared governance structures—and move away from the emergency Restart Committees established last year, which do not follow traditional transparency, participation, and accountability protocols?
3. Allowing for campus-specific decision-making. While central planning and coordination allow the IU system to make use of its resources and expertise, it is also important to recognize that each campus could face different situations and have different needs.
4. Upgrading facilities: What kinds of HVAC improvements has each campus undertaken or planned to ensure that CDC guidelines for airflow can be achieved, especially given that many buildings do not allow for open windows and/or outside air to circulate?
5. Continuing social distancing: If vaccinations will not be mandatory, then we can only assume that social distancing will continue. Will this mean lower-than-capacity classrooms? More online and hybrid instruction? What are the plans to keep unvaccinated students safe in classroom and other educational settings?
6. Accommodating students, faculty, and staff: What are the plans to accommodate those who may find it difficult or dangerous to meet in person, while the pandemic is still ongoing? How about students who are themselves infected or quarantined, or who are affected by the pandemic-related health and economic statuses of family members for whom they have direct responsibility?
August 2021 will not be like 2020, nor will it be like 2019. Our campuses face important challenges in coronavirus prevention, mitigation, and accommodation that will remain with us for the foreseeable future. While we agree that ultimately, in-person instruction is optimal, we also know that universities have been sites of virus transmission in their communities. Universities have a special role in leading the nation in terms of sound judgement and prudent action, placing knowledge and community above other concerns. Not only do we want safe campuses to return to, we want them to be models for what a community response might look like.
We, the undersigned, deeply value the hard work of IU administration, faculty, staff, and students as we work together to ensure the safest possible future. We look forward to learning more about, and collaborating on, plans to address the issues outlined above.
Respectfully,
IU South Bend AAUP Chapter:
Jake Mattox, President
Bill Feighery, Vice President
Benjamin Balthaser, Secretary/Treasurer
April Lidinsky, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies
Joshua Wells, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Social Informatics
1. Jay VanderVeen, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, IUSB
2. Elizabeth Bennion, Department of Political Science, IUSB
3. Marcia Holland, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, IUSB
4. Monica Tetzlaff, Department of History, IUSB
5. David Dodd Lee, Department of English, IUSB
6. Paul Mishler, Labor Studies, IU School of Social Work / South Bend
7. Sean Hottois, School of the Arts, IUSB
8. Diane Economakis, Department of English, IUSB
9. Grace Chen, Department of English, IUSB
10. Jackie Spicer, Department of English, IUSB
11. Rebecca Gibson, Department of English, IUSB
12. Richard Ellman, Department of English, IUSB
13. Chu He, Department of English, IUSB
14. Zach Shrank, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, IUSB
15. Scott Sernau, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, IUSB
16. Anne Magnan-Park, Departments of English and World Languages, IUSB
17. Betsy Lucal, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, IUSB
18. Jennifer Lindley, Department of English, IUSB
19. Theodore Randall, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, IUSB
20. Lisa Zwicker, Department of History, IUSB
21. Gabriel Popescu, Department of Political Science, IUSB
22. Kyle Schweiterman, Department of Mathematical Sciences, IUSB
23. Catherine Hebert-Annis, Department of World Languages, IUSB
24. Shahir Rizk, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, IUSB
25. Thomas Clark, Department of Biology, IUSB
26. Monika Lynker, Department of Physics and Astronomy, IUSB
27. Jonathan Nashel, Department of History, IUSB
28. Kirk Mecklenberg, Department of Biology, IUSB
29. Nuran Bradley, Department of Mathematical Sciences, IUSB
30. Micheline Nilsen, Emerita, Art History, IUSB
31. Yu Song, Department of Mathematical Sciences, IUSB
32. Ryan Olivier, School of the Arts, IUSB
33. Karen Gregg, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, IUSB
34. Luis Vargas, Department of Music, IUSB
35. Jacqueline Lee, Department of Music, IUSB
36. Jeshua Franklin, School of the Arts, IUSB
37. Robert Meyer-Lee, formerly Department of English, IUSB
38. Christina Gerken, Department of Women's and Gender Studies, IUSB
39. Brendan Shea, School of the Arts, IUSB
40. Molly Monroe, Department of World Languages, IUSB
41. Heather Jones, Department of World Languages, IUSB
42. Oscar Barrau, Department of World Languages, IUSB
43. Amy Gretencord, College of Health Sciences, IUSB
44. Anthony Randles, School of Education, IUSB
45. Kimberly McInerney, School of the Arts, IUSB
46. Terri Hebert, School of Education, IUSB
47. Patricia Lewis, Department of Mathematical Sciences, IUSB
48. Lucas Burkett, Department of English, IUSB
49. Rolf Schimmrigk, Department of Physics, IUSB
50. Dave Stahl, School of Education, IUSB
51. Tami Martinez, School of the Arts, IUSB
52. John Thompson, School of the Arts, IUSB
53. Mohammad Merhi, School of Business & Economics, IUSB
54. Murlidharan Nair, Departments of Biology, Computer Science, & Informatics, IUSB
55. Hang Dinh, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, IUSB
56. Kathleen Sullivan, School of Education, IUSB
57. Barbara Mociulski, School of the Arts, IUSB
58. Carolyn Schult, Department of Psychology, IUSB
59. Erinn Kelley, Department of English, IUSB
60. Kelcey Ervick, Department of English, IUSB
61. Nancy Colborn, Schurz Library, IUSB
62. Karen Gindele, Emerita, Department of English, IUSB
63. Darryl Heller, Department of Women's and Gender Studies, IUSB
64. Liqiang Zhang, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, IUSB
65. Michelle Bakerson, School of Education, IUSB
66. Jake Mattox, Department of English, IUSB
67. Bill Feighery, Department of Chemistry, IUSB
68. April Lidinsky, Department of Women's and Gender Studies, IUSB
69. Benjamin Balthaser, Department of English, IUSB
70. Joshua Wells, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, IUSB
(Additional signers: add your name via the Action Network link)