[Faculty] Fwd: Repopulation Plan for Research and Creative Activities Approved; Second Webinar Planned

Thu Jun 4 16:56:07 PDT 2020

Dear Colleagues:

I understand that you have already received this email. As you complete the
application, you may need the square footage of your labs. If you don’t
have the information, please let me know the room number so we can try to
get the information for you.

Thank you,
Garoma
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: SDSU Provost Salvador Hector Ochoa, Stephen C. Welter, Vice President
of Research and Michèle G. Goetz, SDSU Research Foundation Associate Vice
President and Executive Director <provost at sdsu.edu>
Date: Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 1:00 PM
Subject: Repopulation Plan for Research and Creative Activities Approved;
Second Webinar Planned
To: <tgaroma at sdsu.edu>

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Dear SDSU Faculty and Staff,

Thanks to those of you who participated in our recent webinar regarding San
Diego State University’s repopulation plan for research and related
scholarly activities. We will host a second webinar on Thursday, June 18,
from 4 to 5 p.m. and ask that you tune in via the Zoom link:
https://SDSU.zoom.us/j/96133861646.

Also, while the California State University (CSU) is still reviewing the
university-wide repopulation, classroom, housing, and business continuity
plan, and approval for that larger plan is pending, we have an important
update. We are pleased to report that the Chancellor’s Office has issued
CSU system-wide guidelines for repopulation of research, and related
scholarly activities across all colleges and departments as campuses
undergo limited repopulation. We are still subject to authorization of
research by the County of San Diego Public Health Services (HHSA).

At this point, the HHSA has only authorized re-initiation of “bench
research,” including those working with biological or chemical materials,
allowing us to begin evaluating projects. However, the types of research
authorized by HHSA can change on short notice, so we want to be prepared to
rapidly re-initiate other types of research as it is allowed.

*If you are leading a project with bench research, please review the
information below and submit the required forms as quickly as possible.* If
your project does not involve bench research, we still encourage you to
familiarize yourself with the plan and submit the required forms. This will
enable prompt review when your type of work is authorized to resume.

*For research labs, the return to campus is voluntary, as public health
officials cannot guarantee that a resurgence of COVID19 cases will not
occur. If you can work remotely, we encourage that you continue to do so.*

SDSU is following the guidelines of the CSU and HHSA, as described below.
Our plans are based on a phased approach, which prioritizes the health of
university personnel and the community, with the resumption of these
activities as quickly as possible based on public health restrictions. As
different areas of research and scholarly activities are authorized,
priority will be given to:

   - Work that cannot occur remotely due to safety, access to
   instrumentation or facilities.

   - Projects that are close to completion, deadline driven, or require
   seasonal data collection where continued deferral would lead to
   catastrophic delay or loss of results.

   - Activities for completion of grants with end dates within six (6)
   months and where the funding agency has not granted extensions.

   - Work that is essential for career advancement of early stage faculty.

   - Work by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are close to
   completing their degree or term of appointment.

   - Work that is providing essential services to the public.

The plan applies to all SDSU faculty and principal investigators who lead
groups involved in laboratory research, field work, clinical research, or
scholarly activities, including those who were previously deemed essential
and authorized to continue some of their work during the past three months.
The above priority system enables the university to stagger researcher
repopulation, as it is constrained by both health and safety issues and the
repopulation of campus custodial and facilities staff.

As research leaders, faculty are responsible for the health and safety of
the personnel working on their teams or in their labs. To ensure these
responsibilities are clear, we have developed the following required
documents for faculty and research personnel who wish to resume on-campus
activities:

   - *Responsibilities of Research Leaders and Continuity Plan.* The online
   form and checklist for restarting research
   <https://comm.sdsu.edu/UsZ601P0pM0Bw300az000x0> describes
   responsibilities for those involved in laboratory, field and scholarly
   activities. Please review this checklist, sign and date it to indicate your
   commitment to the responsibilities. Research leaders must have an
   established plan that describes how research groups will implement the
   requirements for physical distancing, disinfection, personal protective
   equipment (PPE), and other health requirements in their labs or offices.
   After researchers fill out this form, it will be automatically forwarded to
   their respective deans.

   - *Responsibilities of Project Personnel.* The project personnel
   checklist <https://comm.sdsu.edu/kB00p0z003600Mws0a0y10P> describes the
   individual responsibilities of each member of your team who will be working
   in SDSU or SDSU Research Foundation spaces. Each person you list in your
   Research Continuity Plan must review, sign and date the checklist to
   indicate their personal commitment to these responsibilities. This
   checklist will be sent to each of the personnel you list on your form.
   Completion of the checklist is required before they will be allowed to work
   on campus.

Again, as HHSA has currently authorized bench research, Research Leaders
with bench research projects should submit these forms as soon as possible.
The applications will be reviewed for approval within two weeks.

Because the types of research authorized by HHSA can change on short
notice, we recommend that Research Leaders working on projects from all
areas of research and scholarly activity submit the application promptly.
This will allow prior review of those projects so that, as appropriate,
projects can receive conditional approval for restarting once authorized by
HHSA.

All documents must be approved by the respective college’s dean, Provost
Salvador Hector Ochoa, and Stephen C. Welter, Vice President of Research
and Graduate Dean, prior to resuming activities on the SDSU campus,
off-campus sites, and SDSU Research Foundation facilities.

The Re-populating Faculty and Graduate Students: Framework for Restarting
Research <https://comm.sdsu.edu/Us1601P0pM0Bw300az000z0> plan, including a
description of the required documents, is available online.

Researchers who have questions are asked to be in direct contact with their
dean or associate dean. We look forward to working with you to facilitate
the safe resumption of your programs.

*Salvador Hector Ochoa, Ph.D. *
SDSU Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

*Stephen C. Welter, Ph.D. *
Vice President of Research and Graduate Dean

*Michèle G. Goetz, MBA*
SDSU Research Foundation Associate Vice President and Executive Director

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San Diego State University
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