Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

Dear Faculty:

We want to acknowledge the profound impact that the spread of COVID-19 and our efforts to flatten the curve have had on your lives and on students’ lives. Your efforts have been and continue to be heroic.

There have been many email communications, and we are working to provide you with the information you may need in an easy and accessible format. The Faculty Affairs web site is in the process of being updated to provide you with important links containing information regarding Promotion and Tenure changes, student evaluations, and other issues pertaining to faculty development as well as teaching and learning online.

As you prepare to continue the semester in an online format we would like to share with you some ways in which you could support your students who may be facing new needs in this difficult time.

We would like to ask you to share in your syllabus and/or blackboard announcements/email the following information to students. Feel free to copy and paste, and personalize it as you see fit. We know that students are more likely to open emails that faculty send them and this can help ensure that our students are aware of the resources available to them.

We want to draw your attention to the many resources that UIC has available to you to support you during this time:

• UIC has a number of academic and advising support services that remain open to provide resources and support.
• The Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change are coming up with all kinds of creative ways to stay connected during this time.
• The Counseling Center is meeting with students virtually and continues to offer after-hours crisis care.
• The Wellness Center’s Pop-Up Food Pantry is open every Tuesday and Wednesday from 2-4pm.
• The Campus Advocacy Network is a confidential resource available to provide support and advocacy for victims/survivors of interpersonal violence.
• dream.uic.edu includes a wide variety of information and resources for undocumented students.
• The U & I Care Program is here for you as a resource should you require additional support.
• You are always welcome to reach out to the Office of the Dean of Students at dos@uic.edu and their staff are happy to help connect you to resources.

Please visit the websites of these various programs/resources for more information on how to access their services.

If you have additional questions about how you can help students in crisis, the Office of the Dean of Students and the Counseling Center have dedicated pages for faculty on this topic.

Additionally, if you are able, we encourage you to donate to UIC’s food pantry to help them to keep up with a demand that has escalated significantly in the past week and will likely continue to grow throughout this crisis. We can assure you that the pantry is doing everything possible to support social distancing and cleanliness for visitors.

Thank you for everything you are doing in and out of the classroom to support our students and UIC.

Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health

Office of the Vice Provost/Vice Chancellor for Diversity

Office of the Dean of Students

Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs