In preparation for the return to campus, President Bendapudi and Provost Gonzalez stressed the importance of in-person work through a .

“This fall, we expect to offer a majority of in-person classes and highly engaging experiences on campus that support the whole student body. To do that, we must have a strong, welcoming presence in our classrooms and student-service areas. This means front-facing and student-service positions will need to have a consistent presence on campus,” the communication noted. 

Although many have eagerly awaited the return to pre-COVID conditions, the impending transition back to in-person work has left employees throughout the nation feeling anxious. Over the past year and a half, individuals rose to the occasion and adapted to the difficulties of isolation and remote working conditions. Just as employees have fully adjusted to these changes, employers are now requesting personnel to return to in-person operations. Several universities have proposed stringent policies that will make remote work difficult for employees, which has caused mounting tensions and high turnover rates among university workers nationwide.

While there is an emphasis on in-person work at UofL, leadership has been committed to providing flexible work options for employees when possible. The went into effect on July 1 and allows UofL employees to request remote work arrangements with their respective department leaders. To help supervisors and employees navigate the process, HR provided a series of training sessions during the month of May to review both the Remote Work Policy and Remote Work Agreement.

The flexibility offered through UofL’s Remote Work Policy intends to lessen the anxieties of both faculty and staff as they resume on-campus work. Employees like Kevin Ledford, enterprise systems programmer with Information Technology Services, see potential for lasting positive changes for employees at UofL.

“During COVID-19, our staff has been largely acting remotely and been doing a fantastic job in the face of challenges. We have proven that a number of our workers can work remotely and be as effective, if not more so, than they were before,” Ledford stated. “Allowing workers flexibility goes a long way towards making UofL a great place to work. Giving the worker the flexibility to request what works best for them and work with their department to come up with a plan is a good step forward.”

Despite the flexibility of working from home, many faculty and staff members have been yearning for in-person interactions with students and colleagues. Sherri Wallace, professor of Political Science, is among the employees eager to return to campus this August.

“I’m looking forward to the energy I get from my students during in-person instruction, the looks on students’ faces that indicate where they are and the dynamic discussions that emanate from being in the moment or in the room. I’m looking forward to the casual or vigorous intellectual exchanges that occur in the hallway or on the way to a meeting with colleagues and staff,” Wallace said. “I realize and appreciate virtual or electronic discussions are now part of the norm for communication; however, nothing can or will ever replace social interaction from working in-sync and in-person with those around you.”

Whether employees are returning to campus, continuing remote work or some hybrid fashion of the two, a cautious optimism is felt throughout as UofL begins transitioning back to pre-COVID operations. For more information on the Remote Work Policy and the return to campus, students and employees can refer to . All remote work requests should be submitted and finalized by Aug. 1, 2021.

Boehm opened her report by describing the multiple planning committees that have formed and are chaired by respective senior leadership members to ensure students, faculty and staff are brought back to campus safely in the fall. 

“These are works in progress and we are running fast at a moving target,” Boehm said. A detailed description of these committees can be found .����

Senators requested clarification about the furloughs that affected employees with salaries lower than $58,000. 

“Those below $58,000 in salary [who are furloughed] have an opportunity to recoup more money through the federal CARES Act, the extra $600 a month in unemployment and the expanded unemployment insurance in the state of Kentucky,” Smith said. “So, it is not a perfect solution. There are absolutely situations where individuals are negatively impacted. But we worked with the Board of Trustees and other donors to make sure the Staff Senate SHARE fund was properly funded (so) that we can intervene in situations where that’s necessary.”

SHARE Committee Chair Sally Molsberger, reported that the SHARE program has only received two financial assistance requests thus far for the month of May. She encouraged senators to remind their constituents about the SHARE program. SHARE awards are considered gifts to the recipients and not taxed. 

Senators also asked about the state of the current remote work policy. Smith and Boehm both confirmed that it will be extended. 

“UofL will be doing a phased reopening over the next several months, and right now our recommendation is still remote work. Starting on June 1, the recommendation in most units is still going to be remote work. And that’ll probably be true for the next month or so. That’ll look different in each unit. And deans, vice presidents, vice provosts are going to be working on individual plans that make sense for their work,” Smith said. 

A university communication is forthcoming regarding details on the remote work policy extension and how certain units with critical on-campus work will have the option to start returning slowly.����

A discussion followed about the level of sanitation and personal protective equipment (PPE) that will be provided by the university.

“Centrally and at the unit level there will be investment in PPE and sanitation,” Smith said.

He also asserted that UofL will clean to the level that is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the university will continue to meet its obligation to provide a safe workplace. 

A senator requested clarification on the process for how leaders were supposed to inform their employees about being furloughed, due to concerns about several employees feeling they were not told appropriately. 

Smith explained that all deans, vice presidents and vice provosts were instructed to work directly with their units and inform their furloughed individuals.���� 

“Official notice was coming from an HR email to employees, but ideally those employees would have heard from their senior most supervisors before, that they were going to be furloughed for some period of time. It would be inappropriate for employees to find out for the first time in a public [Microsoft] Teams meeting,” Smith said.����

Boehm added that some supervisors may have chosen to inform their furloughed employees together as a group in a Teams meeting, but that would not be considered a public meeting.����

Committee reports and a full video recording of the virtual meeting can be found on the .����

The next Staff Senate meeting will be held June 9 via Microsoft Teams.