UNC faculty petition to protect health, privacy in return to campus after pandemic

Hundreds of faculty and staff from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have signed on to a petition to help set the standard for a post-pandemic return to campus. In a faculty meeting on Monday, they discussed their concerns.

The faculty petition asks for assurance that: 

In response, Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz, said, "The safety and well-being of our community is our top priority. We know that students thrive in our on-campus environment, and we believe we can provide that environment safely. To accomplish this, everyone will be expected to adhere to our community standards, which will include wearing a mask, physical distancing and more. Our planning has involved Carolina’s world-class infectious disease and public health faculty experts, state and local officials, campus leadership, and groups of faculty, staff and students. Having input from these constituencies has helped us develop a strong Roadmap for Fall 2020. We will provide flexibility to faculty, staff and students for remote learning and teleworking so that we can safely and effectively deliver quality instruction, and carry out our impactful research and service this fall. This is an opportunity for this generation to create a new standard for community care. I think they are more than capable of meeting that challenge.”