Dear UO Portland community,

First, I want to acknowledge how this experience of constant adaptation is challenging and surreal.  We are truly in it together and if there is something that we fail to address, or that would be helpful, you have an open invitation to let us know. It is our goal to support the health and success of the UO Portland community of students, faculty and staff.

Items addressed below:                                                                                          

• Building access starting Monday, March 30th
• Retrieving projects, equipment, materials by students
• Mail retrieval by staff
• Library Processes
• Resources

Building access starting Monday, March 30th 

As you know, we have spent this week with our buildings empty and receiving deep cleaning. We remain committed to complying with the Governor’s order to “stay at home,” and to the University’s commitment to remote education this spring. We will be following guidance for faculty to work remotely, and in the event you cannot carry out critical functions, there is an exception process. Staff are also working remotely, unless approved by their supervisor, and subject to forthcoming university guidance.  Students will be supported remotely, which means absent an extreme exception, which would need to be approved by me, UO Portland campus access is not available to students.

To ensure we limit transmission, we are going to only use the Couch Street door for White Stag building users (the parking lot entrance will be disabled), and the Naito door for LCB users. Please use gender neutral restrooms only.  In White Stag, the restroom is on the 5th floor, in Naito, on the 1st floor.

Access to the buildings will be limited to Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM for those faculty and staff who are approved to enter.  The security personnel will register your entrance and will ask where you are heading, and also if you are healthy!

Retrieving projects, equipment, materials by students 

This is a general outline. Students in the following programs will receive more detailed directions from their faculty/staff.

Students in SPD, SOJC and Architecture studios will be able to come to the Couch Street reception area, at the times directed by their faculty/staff, to retrieve items needed for a successful spring term.  Faculty/staff will retrieve the items and bring them to the reception area wearing gloves that they can get from the front desk.  When they bring the items down to the reception area, there will also be Oxivir wipes at the front desk that should be used for a final wipe down. 

• Tuesday, March 31st:  Students in Architecture  
• Wednesday, April 1st:  Students in Multi-Media Journalism
• Friday April 3rd:  Students in SPD who are local; for those students not in Portland, Susan will be in touch

SPM students removed items before the break, but if you have any issues re: materials, please contact Greg Leedy, Lab Manager, gleedy@uoregon.edu

Mail retrieval by staff 

Please work within your unit to determine if mail needs to be retrieved, and if so, by whom.  John Woelfle has been sorting the White Stag Block mail and will package it up for each unit once a week, upon your request, and leave it at the Couch Street entrance desk. Naito outside mail will be held in the mailboxes, while shuttle mail will be delivered to the front desk at 109 Naito. If you retrieve mail, please do so with care, following CDC guidelines.

Library Processes

Processes for library drop-off and pick-ups will be coming soon, but meanwhile contact Michael Brown (brownm@uoregon.edu) if you have library needs.

Resources

• We are all GOING REMOTE!  This is a chance for us to work, learn and be in a new way. This UO Information Services site is very helpful for students, staff and faculty.

• Visit Remote Resources for Students to find links and resources that will connect students with class support, academic advising, technology resources, student services, involvement, and much more.

• The UO is hosting a virtual town hall to provide updates and answer questions related to the university's response to COVID-19 on Monday, March 30 at 2:30 p.m.

• Faculty can visit the Provost’s newly updated page to learn more about Academic Continuity Resources and Guidance.

• UO students now have free Zoom Basic accounts for videoconferencing. Get started with Zoom to be ready for remote learning.

• Adobe Creative Cloud is available for free to all UO students until May 31.

• A limited number of Chromebooks are still available as free loaner laptops on a first-come, first-served basis for lower-income students who need a computer to study remotely.

• You can order textbooks online from the Duck Store. All items ship free within the US.

Students – we are here for you.  Please reach out to your faculty, staff, Sarah Kutten (skutten@uoregon.edu) or me (jgordon@uoregon.edu), with any questions or concerns.  We know this is not what you expected as you entered your programs, and for many of you, there is disappointment.  Do let us know if there is more we can do to be supportive within the constraints under which we must operate.

All my best,

Jane