Office of the Provost

Dear colleagues,

We are reaching a couple of significant milestones in our fall semester: the end of in-person courses and Thanksgiving Break. You have been tremendous partners in adapting creatively and thoughtfully as we have had to update guidance throughout the semester pertaining to instruction and research, among many other areas. Thank you for all you have done to keep yourselves, your students, and your colleagues safe.

As we see COVID positivity rates increase in the state and around the country, we want to share a few reminders about precautions specific to research activities that will help us mitigate exposure risk and protect the health and safety of faculty, staff, students, patients, the public, and human research subjects.

• All activities that can be done remotely should be done remotely.
• Maintain adherence to public health measures, including social distancing, wearing masks, and frequent hand washing.
• The density in labs and shared spaces should be minimized.
• Anyone experiencing any symptoms should remain at home. It is not possible to tell the difference between a cold and COVID based on how you feel.
• If you are exposed to someone who is positive for COVID, you should follow current guidelines regarding quarantine and the need to follow up with a healthcare professional.
• Review guidance from the Office of the Provost and Office of Undergraduate Research related to undergraduate participation in research during and after the Thanksgiving recess. Please note for UConn Health, UConn students under quarantine should not continue to participate in research activities at UConn Health until their quarantine is lifted.
• There are no plans to ramp down research activities at this time; however, researchers are encouraged to review guidance from the Division of Environmental Health and Safety and the OVPR on safely ramping down research activities.

These precautions are grounded in the same principles that have informed our guidance since last spring, including:

• Directives and guidance from local, state, and federal authorities to minimize disease spread and exposure, such as restrictions related to essential businesses, social distancing, reduced density, stay-at-home orders, travel, and masks.
• All research colleagues on campus must be registered with the Office of Human Resources On Campus Registry with the exception of graduate assistants and student workers. Please refer to HR’s guidance about the Spring Registry issued on Nov. 16. During semester break and in the spring semester those research colleagues that are concerned about potential exposure may contact their manager or Principal Investigator who will notify HR that a test is requested.  Employees testing is encouraged.
• Principal Investigators (PIs) remain responsible for providing direction and oversight of their projects, labs, and/or research sites, and personnel including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and staff.

If someone in your lab or research program tests positive for COVID or has come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID, you should follow current University guidelines regarding reporting. If you have employee-related questions, please contact hr@uconn.edu or hr-employeeresource@uchc.edu, respectively.

If you have any questions regarding research activities, please visit the OVPR website or contact ovpr@uconn.edu.

Thank you,
Radenka and Carl

Radenka Maric
Vice President for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs