03/19/2021
By Jacquie Moloney

As we move into the second half of March, I find my optimism growing every day. It has been the most challenging year of my career, but one made easier by the incredible efforts you have all made to advance the mission of this university for our students and for each other. Thank you.

Earlier this semester, I shared with you that UMass Lowell intends to return to full on-campus operations for the Fall 2021 semester. The Baker administration announced yesterday that all residents 16 and older will be eligible to receive vaccinations starting on April 19, and guidance from the federal government makes clear there will be sufficient supply for all Americans this spring.

While the majority of us have spent time working remotely during the last 12 months, our campus has never closed. Even at the peak of the pandemic, employees from Residence Life, Facilities, University Police, IT, Administrative Services, the Emergency Operations Center and many others have all worked on campus. Last summer, a number of faculty, and a larger cohort this spring, have all continued working with our students in person. And I know for every person working on campus, there are many more who are eager to join them.

On behalf of the entire campus, I want to say thank you so much to these individuals whose efforts around teaching, research, university operations and surveillance testing have been instrumental in enabling us to maintain momentum during the pandemic. Your work has helped keep our university and our community productive and safe. Out of more than 40,000 tests this academic year, UMass Lowell’s positivity rate is only 0.4%.

In the coming months, we will continue to increase our on-campus population with the goal of having most employees back on campus by July 1. This process will be gradual, and we may make adjustments if vaccine distribution is delayed or case counts rise. We will continue to demonstrate flexibility as we work together to develop our plans to safely return to full operations, while providing accommodations where needed.

We should consider the status of our on-campus operations in the following phases:

  • Phase 1 – Partially face to face and partially remote (March to August 2020)
  • Phase 2 – 8% on-campus instruction in fall 2020 with increase to 25% for spring 2021
  • Phase 3 – Gradually increase small group activities and meetings on campus, especially outside (target April to June)
  • Phase 4 – On-campus operations resume with majority of faculty and staff in person (July to August)
  • Phase 5 –Fall semester begins with near normal operations, instruction and activities (September)

We are about to enter Phase 3, and the past year has taught us that we can’t know exactly what the coming months will bring. It will depend on facts on the ground, the current public health guidance from the state and the CDC, and many other variables that we’ll react and adjust to and continue to communicate.

As a token of our appreciation for your dedication and hard work, the university will extend the waiver of parking fees for FY22 for all faculty and staff.

We continue to evaluate the financial impacts of the pandemic and are grateful for the federal stimulus dollars passed in the recent American Rescue Plan. This funding will be critical in helping us fill our current budget deficit as well as our anticipated shortfalls in FY22. We have joined President Meehan in recommending a tuition freeze for the second year in a row. While providing needed relief to our students and their families, this also will contribute to budget shortfalls. These factors, along with projected decreases in student housing and revenues from auxiliary services, mean that we will continue to face fiscal challenges in the coming year.

Steve O’Riordan, vice chancellor for finance and operations, will be providing a budget update in the coming weeks with a more detailed look at where things stand.

As we look to additional campus activities this spring, I am happy to announce that we plan to provide an in-person Commencement experience for our students. The formal ceremony will be virtual, through our website, after which we plan to have short, small ceremonies in person in the Tsongas Center on May 13 and May 14. Our current plan is to have bachelor’s and master’s degree recipients, accompanied by two guests, walk in, receive their diploma covers, have a photo taken and walk out. An in-person ceremony for doctoral candidates is planned for May 12. We believe this will be possible because of fewer COVID-19 cases in our community and recently updated public health guidance from the state. Many details are still being finalized and we will share those in the weeks ahead.

I’m also pleased to share that nearly 85% of our employees who were temporarily laid off have now been recalled, have retired or have accepted new positions on campus or elsewhere. We are continuing to evaluate our next steps in close consultation with union leadership.

We’re working hard to anticipate and answer as many questions as we can. But please reach out to your manager, dean or vice chancellor with any recommendations or questions, particularly about plans for return from remote work.

I also hope you’ll join me and the Executive Cabinet for a virtual open forum, where we will answer questions and provide an update on the newest information, on April 5 at 10 a.m. I hope this will be our last virtual open forum for quite a while!

I can’t say enough about how grateful I am for everything you have done for our university, our students and each other during the past year. From sharing in the financial burden to finding new and innovative approaches to teaching, research and student services, we are emerging from this pandemic in a far stronger place than many of our peers across the country.

It is thanks to you that I am more optimistic than ever about our future.