We have all been following the news from the Provincial Government and have seen the recent messages from Professor Ono about the latest changes to COVID-19 public health guidance. We know our return to campus will need to be different than the plans we discussed at our VPFO all-staff town hall on July 15.
We are a diverse portfolio with a wide variety of roles and responsibilities. Many of us have been on campus throughout the pandemic, and the new mandates are a return to well-known routines. But for others, who have just begun to return, this will be a further adjustment. Furthermore, we can anticipate that events and guidance may change again — and if that happens, we will all continue to adapt as required.
Our colleagues in Safety & Risk Services (SRS) are currently working to update our campus safety planning framework and are working with our External Relations departments to get the right information to the university and our stakeholders.
Our first step to success is for each of us to do our part. I ask you to look after your responsibilities under the revised safety plans. We will need to have compassion with each other, be flexible where we can, and practice good judgment.
To make sure you have the latest information to enable all VPFO staff return to campus by our current target of October 4, we will be hosting a series of meetings across the portfolio:
- During the weeks of August 31 to September 10, SRS and HR will be leading meetings with all supervisors across the VPFO to give clear direction for how we plan to implement our return.
- On September 10, the senior leadership team will meet online with their leadership teams to share and discuss our process and preparations for our return to campus.
- On September 22, we will have an optional online all-staff meeting to revisit the most current information and confirm the steps and timing required.
As always, the university will be posting the most recent information and communications to the UBC COVID-19 website and we will be resharing this information through all of our VPFO communications channels.
Again, I want to thank you for all you have done to help us weather these changes and assure you that I will do my part to ensure that our VPFO team’s return to campus will be conducted in a safe, thoughtful and respectful manner.