Cornell seal
Back

Discover CALS

See how our current work and research is bringing new thinking and new solutions to some of today's biggest challenges.

ACTION REQUESTED: Preparations for Tuesday's Chairs and Directors Meeting

March 12, 2020
Dear Chairs and Directors,

We have decided to expand our CALS chair’s meeting Tuesday March 17 into a chairs and directors’ meeting as everyone is affected by university policy decisions focused on minimizing spread of COVID-19. Please plan on sharing challenges that you are facing in the context of teaching and research (suggested approaches and actions below) as well as solutions that have been identified in your units. Please note question 5 below particularly for research continuity. We expect that discussion will be helpful to chairs and directors generally and to college leadership in our ongoing planning. As you are undoubtedly aware, the situation is fluid and changing rapidly and we want to keep the lines of communication open as well as brainstorm ideas and create constructive redundancies.

Teaching:

Review the list of courses being taught in your department this semester and who is teaching them. Canvas these faculty to find out how each is planning to convert to online course delivery which must begin after spring break. You may want to ask faculty to use the “Readiness quiz” posted online at the Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI) website https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/planning-remote-teaching, to make an assessment. Please bring a rough evaluation of your department’s readiness to the Chair’s meeting on March 17, along with challenges that need to be addressed. Consider partnering faculty who have more experience with online instruction with those who don’t to help the latter make the transition. A variety of tutorials for useful tools (e.g. Canvas, Zoom) are available at the CTI website to help faculty move classes online.  We anticipate that the Center for Teaching Innovation will soon be mounting workshops to help (stay tuned). 

Research:

Each faculty member in your units should be formulating a plan for research continuity in case of a Covid-19 outbreak in Ithaca. If people are quarantined, it is likely that there will be a much-reduced labor force not only in your lab, but more generally in your academic department and college. In this planning exercise, we ask that everyone consider the safety of our community (faculty, students, staff) as paramount.  Please ask faculty to discuss contingency plans with lab members so that each team has the reassurance that there is a plan and an understanding of how communication will proceed, and responsibilities will be shared. Please brainstorm ideas and solutions with colleagues and departmental chair.

Some of the questions we want you and your faculty to consider about research continuity:

  1. What functions are absolutely essential to maintain in your research program and what is the chain of responsibility for doing so?
  2. What functions can be paused if necessary?
  3. How will members of your lab communicate with you and each other so that essential tasks are covered?
  4. Are there ways that members of the department and the broader research community can create redundancies to share needs and cover essential functions?
  5. Are there functions in the essential category that depend on college or university support services?  Please explain these issues to your chair.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions.

 

Beth and Amy