The University of Washington Bothell emergency blogs by date

UW Bothell update on classes, finals and campus operations

Dear Campus Community,

I write to follow-up to the message sent this morning from UW President Ana Mari Cauce.

Let me begin by thanking you for your patience and perseverance in focusing on your studies and work even as we all monitor the spread of the coronavirus and take extra measures to keep ourselves, our families and communities safe.

As noted in the president’s message, starting on Monday, March 9, classes will no longer be meeting in person. For the remainder of the winter quarter, instructors are asked to conduct classes and/or exams remotely, as possible, until the quarter concludes on March 20. You can read more about this announcement online in a message from UW Provost Mark Richards.

If you have any questions about the announcement regarding classes and exams or about UW Bothell operations, please consult with your instructors, advisers or supervisors.

I also write today to call your attention to several important updates:

• In accordance with Public Health-Seattle & King County guidance, we encourage supervisors to provide telework options to employees or students whose job duties can be performed remotely without hampering operations. Supervisors have maximum flexibility to implement this. More information can be found online about UW Bothell’s plans for instructional continuity and operational continuity.
• We have acquired an enterprise license for Zoom videoconferencing that all UW faculty, staff and students can use to carry out their instructional, academic and administrative work. More details are available on the IT website.
• As a precautionary measure, we are currently in the process of deep cleaning our campus buildings. This work will continue until all spaces have been completed. In addition to this deep cleaning, our facilities staff are also performing high-touch, touch-point cleaning and monitoring and refilling our wall-mounted hand sanitizer dispensers on campus throughout the day. Our custodial crew has been extra responsive to all our calls and needs, and for that we are extremely grateful. We have asked the contractors who maintain our leased spaces (Husky Hall, Beardslee Building and Beardslee Crossing) to follow the same cleaning procedures.
• We will be replenishing the food pantries in Husky Hall and in the Student Diversity Center (UW1-173) to meet our community’s needs during this time of uncertainty.
• To learn more about anti-stigma resources that may be particularly useful at this time, please see the information developed and curated by Public Health–Seattle & King County.

In close consultation with UW leadership in Seattle and with public health officials, we will continue to track the health situation and to provide you with needed information and resources.

All faculty, staff and students are also urged to check the homepage of the UW Bothell website to find direct links to the most up-to-date information from UW in Seattle. The homepage also features a link to campus-specific resources that will be updated regularly with relevant information and instructions.

I know that there are many people all around campus who are doing amazing work day in and day out on behalf of our students and our entire UW Bothell community. As President Cauce’s message noted, “this University has faced and overcome challenges before. Working together, we will do so again.”

Thank you for your attention and participation as we all focus on serving our academic mission, continue our daily work and, as always, prioritize the safety of our students, staff and faculty.

Bjong Wolf Yeigh, Ph.D., F.ASME
Chancellor and Professor of Engineering

Posted March 6, 2020 10:02 am