Our Return to Campus this Summer and Fall

May 27, 2021

Dear Rutgers Faculty and Staff,
 
After more than a year of largely remote operations, it is time for those of us not already working physically on campus to begin our return to Rutgers’ campuses. The pandemic is still very much present, but with declining case counts, nearly sixty percent of all New Jersey adults at least partially vaccinated, and state and federal public health restrictions easing to reflect these realities, we can now prepare to repopulate our university. 
 
As this happens, I want to reiterate my deep thanks to all those who never really left because of the nature of their work; we remain in your debt. I also appreciate the efforts of those working from home, often overcoming the special challenges of managing the other aspects of your lives affected by the pandemic. Indeed, I recognize the great work of our University community during this difficult and uncertain time, and I am proud of everything that we’ve been able to accomplish.
 
Our return will be guided by three overarching principles: 1) we are returning to the classroom and the workplace in support of our mission of teaching, research, clinical care, and service; 2) our commitment to the health and safety of the campus community, based on science and public health guidelines, remains paramount; and 3) the safe repopulation of our campuses is a shared responsibility, which means we all must do our part to keep safe, to ensure equity in our return, and to be flexible in implementing the return.
 
We have mandated that all students returning to campus this fall must be vaccinated. I urge all faculty and staff to get vaccinated as well. Vaccines are currently plentiful throughout the state, and we have established vaccine distribution centers at all of our campuses; please take the opportunity to get vaccinated, if you haven’t already.
 
I am asking that by Tuesday, July 6, each academic and administrative unit will have a Return to Rutgers plan in place and will begin operating according to that plan. Our expectation is that beginning on July 6, all units will be performing their functions in-person, and that all employees will resume working in-person, at least some of the time. Flexibility will be provided to managers in implementing and executing those plans based on issues such as workspace capacity, the need to maintain physical distance, and the particular functions of the unit.
 
Executive Vice President Antonio Calcado and his team at Institutional Planning & Operations have prepared this document to guide planning for the return (the recent CDC guidance and New Jersey state Executive Order will be accounted for where possible and updated as appropriate). Additional updates about workplace policies and other related topics can be found here.
 
You will be hearing more from leaders on the campuses and within your units in the coming weeks with information about how these plans will take shape.
 
Rutgers is meant to be an in-person, face-to-face university community, with campus walkways, academic building hallways, libraries, dining halls, and student centers buzzing with live interactions. We need to get back to that model. Our plan for return recognizes this ideal while making clear that we want to be careful and to do this right; we don’t want to ignore the experience and lessons of the past 15 months and the ways in which we took advantage of technology to perform our work effectively.
 
In furtherance of this idea, I have asked Senior Vice President for Human Resources Vivian Fernández to chair a presidential task force on the future of work at Rutgers, with universitywide representation. The group will focus on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic remote working experiment as they relate to improving the student and patient experience, enhancing quality, building capacity, saving on costs, increasing innovation, and promoting employee well-being. The task force will report to me in May 2022 with recommendations that could help us better serve students and the community, operate with greater efficiency, promote work-life balance, and support sustainability.
 
You have been remarkable in your commitment to keep Rutgers moving forward, even in a pandemic, having contributed in vital ways to our battle against this devastating disease. I look forward to this next phase of our recovery from the pandemic and to seeing you in person in the months ahead.
 
Sincerely,
 
Jonathan Holloway
President and University Professor