Dear graduate students,
We are taking action to ensure that students can effectively pursue their studies while decreasing our exposure to the novel coronavirus and promoting the wellbeing of individuals and our community.
Background of COVID-19 at Rice. Just over two weeks ago, a staff member in Keck Hall felt ill and quickly and proactively self-quarantined. The people with whom that person had been in contact were identified and they also quickly quarantined, well before any testing was available. Spaces in Keck were cleaned and disinfected. The initial staff member was confirmed to have COVID-19 and was successfully treated. Those with whom that staff member was in contact have now been cleared under CDC guidelines. The Rice community appears to have successfully countered the threat, in substantial part because of the proactiveness, discipline, and care for the community that those individuals have demonstrated. They have dealt with loneliness and their compromised ability to pursue their scholarship while isolated, but they did it for the rest of us. They showed superb judgement and took their responsibility to the community exceptionally seriously. We are all indebted to them.
This was a stressful episode, most of all for the involved individuals and others who work in Keck Hall. We’ve communicated whatever we knew when it didn’t compromise individuals’ rights. I’m grateful for the patience you’ve shown as we have tried our best to communicate what we know promptly and factually.
Minimizing risk exposure at Rice. We are now entering a phase of the viral spread in which these types of interruptions to everyday life will be more frequent. We all share responsibility to decrease coronavirus spread and to protect ourselves and one another. It’s important to reduce our interpersonal interactions, but we are also committed to protecting our students’ ability to pursue their studies. We are moving all classroom instruction to online or other remote formats minimizing our individual risk exposure, but these are only first steps.
On-campus research and remote research and education. All coursework will move online and to other remote formats to help promote the social distancing recommended by the CDC. Over the next few days you will receive communication from your schools and instructors regarding this new mode of learning. Beyond coursework, everyone is encouraged to think creatively about how to approach previously in-person interactions. For example, some meetings may take place over video conference and some editing projects might be moved to cloud services.
An FAQ and information from GPS. The graduate student population is a heterogenous one, with many diverse concerns. To help graduate students weigh their options and learn about resources available to them, the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies has published an FAQ for graduate specific issues available here. The FAQ will continue to be updated as the situation evolves and university decisions are made. After reviewing this site, please contact the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies if you have additional questions or concerns.
I'd also like to highlight a few items that specifically impact graduate students:
- All in-person classroom instruction for the week of March 9 was canceled to allow the campus time to prepare for the possibility of bringing coursework online. All classroom instruction will be taught online or in other remote formats beginning on Monday, March 23. Classes will be delivered by remote delivery at the same day and time of the week that they currently meet. Please watch for information from your instructor about how to be ready to attend class remotely on March 23.
- Residents of RGA and RVA will be permitted to remain in their apartments for the duration of their lease, regardless of their need to be physically on campus. We encourage you to engage in disciplined self-distancing practices in these and in all other spaces.
- We ask international scholars to stay in close contact with the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS). Please expect further followup from the Office of International Students and Scholars.
- Precautionary health and hygiene messages must be followed. According to the CDC, people with preexisting health conditions or are immunosuppressed are at higher risk of developing complications from a COVID-19 infection. Your health is paramount, so public health officials may recommend that you stay home if there are more community infections. The CDC has created guidelines to help you plan and prepare in the event of needing to limit time in public or if you become sick. Your health care team can also help you assess your current medications and conditions to help you think about actions that can minimize risk to you and your household. For immunosuppressed residents of the RGA and RVA, some accommodations are available. In addition, the Office of the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies can help all graduate students navigate your situation and advise on resources that are available at Rice. For more information on resources for students that have preexisting health conditions or are immunosuppressed, please contact my office (graduate@rice.edu) to explore your options with GPS staff. Alternatively, if this situation applies to you, you can fill out this survey, and someone will contact you.
- Travel ban and guidelines. Rice has banned all university-sponsored international travel for faculty, staff, postdocs and students, at least through April 30. We recognize that in a limited number of cases, the impact of this temporary decision could have significant professional consequences. If that is the case, an appeal may be made to the Provost's Office at provost@rice.edu. Students returning from international travel may be required to self-isolate upon their return.
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You are required to register all personal and university-sponsored international travel on the Rice UniversityTravel Registry Form.
- If you’re feeling symptoms that you’re concerned about, we’re asking you to fill out the questionnaire here: https://veoci.com/veoci/p/form/p8zgvmwm9fbn#tab=entryForm)
Rice alerts: stay up to date. Rice will continue to send updates as needed via the Rice Alerts system. A history of the alerts is also available. Other Frequently Asked Questions are available through the emergency.rice.eduwebsite here: https://emergency.rice.edu/coronavirus-faq.
Your overall health and wellbeing. Please know we take the threat of this virus very seriously, and we care very deeply about your health and safety. If you would benefit from talking to someone, we encourage you to reach out to the Wellbeing and Counseling Center, which continues to be available to students, though the process has been modified to follow CCD recommendations. Please see the information here on the best way to contact them as well as other after hours resources.
Our office will also continue to work with our campus community to ensure the wellbeing of all students, faculty and staff.
I’m deeply grateful to be a member of this committed and very thoughtful community. Let’s make a special effort to be kind to each other.
With all best regards,
Seiichi
Seiichi Matsuda
Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Interim Provost