Dear Physics Community,
I am posting these messages in my blog roll here and I have been accumulating useful links that have gone by here. In particular, I am trying to keep a list of MIT policy communications.
Big Picture for MIT
MIT remains open, but everyone is strongly encouraged to work from home. MIT is NOT closed and remaining open means that services will continue at a certain level and has HR meaning. Please be very conscientious about not coming in unless you need to.
The last week has been completely reactive. Right now, it is most useful to think in terms of,
- What needs to happen by Sunday?
- What things are for next week, as we being working together remotely?
- What things are for the week after, as we begin rehearsal for online teaching?
- What things are for after March 30, when we are teaching online and working to operate in a new normal.
To our staff – I want to thank all of you for your patience int he last week where the focus has been in students. On Monday, we will begin to work on how we work together. I think we need to meaningfully check in on each other daily, so please start thinking about how to do that in your area.
Academic Continuity Phone Call
From Susan Blake, MIT’s emergency Coordinator, the priorities right now are
- Vacate students
- Develop social distance – Peter’s note: this is 6 feet and hard to maintain. When we are together, we like about 4 feet. We start sat 6 feet and gravitate closer. We need to learn not to do this.
Undergraduates – Students are moving out well and petition process is nearly done. Their statistics are
- 691 petitions received
- 396 approved (39 plan to leave at the end of the month, 20% decided to leave after approval
- 257 worked with DSL to find alternative to staying
- 38 denied
- 1 appeal has been filed, will probably be approved, expect a few more
About 300 undergraduates will remain on campus and will be sorted into new spaces. There will be rules developed about access to campus, checking, etc. Life will be very different than during term.
Graduate students – the messaging have been ambiguous and there should be a communication out soon. My guidance is that graduate students should work from their MIT residence and only come on campus if absolutely necessary. There are no instructions for graduate students to leave. About 30% have left for their own reasons.
Graduate students may be seeking guidance from their advisors on what to do, attending to experiments, etc. My guidance is to try, but recognize many faculty are taking care of various family things on the week. I will give guidance by Monday on getting advising going again.
Research Continuity – MIT has not decided on its policy. Harvard has issued instructions to wind down by Wednesday and then expect 6-8 weeks with all research shut down and no access to labs. Other places have less restrictive policies. Marty Schmidt (Provost) and Maria Zuber (VPR) are working on MIT policy, hopefully out later today. In the meantime, my guidance is,
- Have a plan for safe mode by Wednesday.
- ALL meetings are remote
- No one in labs unless essential from a safety point of view
- Buddy system in labs
Keep in mind that even minimum lab operation needs support people to come to MIT, ride the T, etc.
Cecilia (MIT medical) – best estimates right now are that the infections will peak in late March/early April. How long the tail lasts will depend on how well we do with social distancing and hand washing. MIT Medical will begin testing Monday – only those with symptoms, not screening.
Final Note
Please think about who from the Department you might know who might need help or to talk with someone and check on them. The news is all over the place and some might just needs some contact.
Peter