Thomas F. Rosenbaum: Memo to Faculty, Senior Lecturers and Lecturers
2 pm, September 22, 2009
To: Faculty, Senior Lecturers, and Lecturers
From: Thomas F. Rosenbaum, Provost
Subject: H1N1
As the academic year begins anew, I write to welcome you back to campus and to ask you to think in advance about measures that you would take if the H1N1 flu (“swine flu”) becomes a problem for you or for your students.
We are all accustomed to dealing with our own occasional illness and with individual students’ medical absences. We now potentially face a more widespread phenomenon. I reiterate the advice of our own experts in Infectious Disease and at the CDC in saying that anyone with fever or flu-like symptoms should stay home until 24 fever-free hours have passed without the use of medication to control fever. The course of H1N1 is currently estimated at 3-5 days, leading us to believe that by arranging for a faculty colleague, lecturer, or teaching assistant to cover your class or by providing your students with assignments via Chalk, you will be able to keep your courses moving forward even if you stay home. You may wish to refer to http://news.uchicago.edu/btn/swineflu.php for assistance in identifying your back-up plan in advance.
The University is similarly urging students in the strongest terms to heed the advice to remain at home if they are experiencing the flu. Please help us reinforce this message, and be prepared to relax attendance requirements and to expand opportunities to make up work or exams so that sick students are not unwisely attending class and spreading the virus.
The Student Care Center has already notified us that they will not be able to supply notes to confirm students’ illness since their staff will be busy caring for those who are ill. We will be obliged to operate on the honor system.
The University has plans in place for responding to H1N1, and we are working with our Medical Center and continuing to monitor the situation closely. For additional information on H1N1 and tips on class preparation in this environment, please visit http://news.uchicago.edu/btn/swineflu.php. You may also contact your area dean of students and the College advisers on questions related to students. Your department chair and dean also stand ready as resources for academic planning.
With your help, we hope and expect that we will be able to weather this flu season without any major institution-wide disruption.