The College of Engineering’s weekly update aims to provide transparent and frequent information about how the College is operating, adapting and caring for its community. Updated information can always be found at the College’s COVID website. Questions and feedback can be submitted here.
RESEARCH RE-ENGAGEMENT CONTINUES
Wave 2 of Research Re-engagement began June 8, with the opening of 13 additional buildings. Re-engagement includes selected, non-COVID19 related bench research, and is being conducted in waves. Wave 1 included GGB, ECE and EWRE. Wave 2 opened DOW, CSRB, AE TUNNEL, AUX SERV 1, FXB, Rad Sci 1, Rad Sci 2, NAME, IoE, AUTO LAB, COOLEY, NUCENGLAB, PHOENIX, BIRB, GERSTACKER, LBME, ENG RES 1 and ENG RES 2.
Information about the research re-engagement restrictions, limitations, expectations and future waves can be found on the Office of Research’s website.
COVID-19 PAID TIME OFF
With Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement to rescind the Stay Home, Stay Safe order and President Schlissel’s message addressing how the university will continue gradual reactivation, updates are being made to COVID-19 Paid Time Off that compares the various paid time off options. Brief updates include:
- Federal Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSLA): For employees who are unable to work remotely, EPSLA is only available for use until June 7, 2020.
- U-M COVID-19 Paid Time Off: Employees hired after June 7, 2020, are not eligible for this one-time bank of paid time off.
- Short-Term Sick: For employees who are unable to work remotely, short-term sick is only available for use until June 7, 2020. Use of short-term sick for employees caring for a child whose school or daycare is closed remains available.
RESTRICTED BUILDING ACCESS
College buildings remain restricted to any individuals not approved for mission-critical activities or research. All individuals with approval must complete their COVID safety training in My Linc and follow all protocols, which includes swiping into buildings with their Mcard. It is essential for us to maintain access to buildings, with each individual swiping them. Please do not hold open doors or bring others into the building with you. As new buildings open, greeters from departments, divisions and units will be assigned at each building’s entry point.
VIRTUAL EVENT SOFTWARE AVAILABLE
Events like career fairs draw large crowds and bring in campus guests who travel around the nation. To decrease the risk of COVID-19 cases in our community, the College of Engineering has contracted with Career Fair Plus (CF+) to offer video based virtual career fairs and events. The software can be used for events that have an in-person “booth” style setup. In addition to being a safety measure, it allows students to schedule times to meet with recruiters/presenters via video instead of waiting in a virtual waiting room with a large volume of other students. If you are interested in learning more about the product or to see if your event fits well with the software, contact Kerri Boivin at kboivin@umich.edu.
PARKING PERMITS AND ENFORCEMENT
Parking permits will be renewed June 15 for the new fiscal year. Permit holders with auto-renew devices have been renewed for FY21, and those who do not auto-renew should have received an email with instructions to purchase a new permit. If you do not want your parking payroll deductions to resume in June, please follow the instructions to return it. If your permit return is postmarked by June 30, the June 2020 payroll parking deduction will be refunded to you. On July 1, parking permit enforcement will be restored for all parking areas.