To All Faculty and Staff:
As a follow up to the Aug. 17 Town Hall with Dean Mark E. Schweitzer, M.D.; Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Carolyn Hafner; and Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning and Management Robert Davenport, I wanted to provide further clarification regarding the return to campus as well as a link to the Town Hall for those of you who were not able to attend.
The Town Hall recording is available at https://www.med.wayne.edu/streaming/town-hall-meetings.I want to thank those who participated in the Town Hall and provided questions. With all the health and community information at this time, we are still working toward an on-campus student body and workforce in alignment with the Wayne State University campus health and safety guidelines, which can be found at https://wayne.edu/coronavirus/returning-guidelines.
I wanted to clarify a few items related to the University Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) and the School of Medicine Return to Campus (RTC) plans. These are two separate items that require different action to be taken. I also want to relay important requirements regarding COVID-19 vaccinations.
Proof of Vaccination, Exceptions and COVID-19-Related Information
• You must submit your proof of vaccination online. This requirement is separate from the vaccine raffle, so submit proof of vaccination to the link provided even if you have already entered the raffle.
• You may apply online for a waiver of the requirement based on legitimate health or religious reasons. These requests will be reviewed by the Campus Health Committee. Individuals who have an approved waiver will be required to be tested for COVID-19 once a week. You must upload either the proof of vaccination or the waiver by Aug. 30.
• Everyone, vaccinated and unvaccinated, is required to wear a mask indoors on campus until at least Sept. 15.
• Visit the campus restart pages for regular updates on operations and topics related to returning to campus as well as the Campus Health Center for information related to vaccines, COVID-19 and health records Frequently asked questions are on the School of Medicine Coronavirus Updates pages at https://www.med.wayne.edu/coronavirus/updates
School of Medicine Return to Campus
• The School of Medicine return to campus plan is separate from the university six-month pilot FWA program.
• The RTC plan is required of all academic and non-academic departments. Unless you have been contacted about the RTC plan you submitted, you can assume your plan is good to continue through Sept. 6.
• The goal to have all offices open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and appropriately staffed by Aug. 23 remains in place. This is to ensure we are meeting the academic and business needs of faculty, staff and students.
University Six-Month Flexible Work Arrangement Program
• The University FWA is a pilot program that begins Sept. 7, the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend. This is a six-month university-wide pilot program to determine if FWAs are sensible and effective for the university and in turn, the School of Medicine. To participate in the FWA, you must complete and submit the required form at https://hr.wayne.edu/coronavirus/fwa-request-form.pdf.
• Supervisors must send approved FWA forms to the Dean’s Office at somofficeofthedean@med.wayne.edu.
• To meet our academic and business obligations to faculty, students and staff, the Dean’s Office may revise or rescind an approved FWA.
• To allow adequate time to review FWA forms, submit your request no later than Aug. 30.
• Unless you are contacted about the FWA plan you submitted, you can assume your request is approved.
These are challenging times and we must continue to work together and communicate. I appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation as we continue to live in a world in which we don’t have all the answers but must carry on.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at tjp@wayne.edu.
Thane Peterson
Vice Dean of Finance and Administration, School of Medicine
Associate Vice President of Finance and Administration, Health Affairs
