A message from Chancellor Dubois

Dear UNC Charlotte Community,

Late yesterday afternoon, the campus received a NinerNotice with information related to the guidance issued from the UNC System regarding coronavirus (COVID-19). I wanted to provide more context about the steps we are taking to safeguard our campus and what you can expect next.

Since mid-January, a cross-divisional team has been meeting to assess, plan and prepare our University’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. While we have no confirmed cases on campus or even in Mecklenburg County, it has now become clear the virus is continuing to spread across the country and the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. This is true for all schools in the UNC System, which is why the System Office issued guidance yesterday afternoon to help ensure we are responding in a coordinated fashion.

UNC Charlotte has been working for several weeks to prepare the necessary next steps, and now we are ensuring our plans align with the System Office’s guidance. In some respects, our plans are even more restrictive than the System guidance. Our goal is to provide you information and next steps that help start to clarify the many questions you likely have on your mind, and we intend to do so no later than 6 p.m. today. While we cannot entirely prevent the spread of COVID-19, we are working to mitigate its risk to our faculty, staff, students, and their families.

In the interim, I want to assure you of a few important things:

• UNC Charlotte remains open, classes are not canceled, and we are committed to preserving the quality of our students’ education this semester, even if the instruction is delivered in an unconventional format.
• Our residence halls remain open, and no student is required to leave. We will also have dining options available that provide appropriate social distancing for our students.
• We are also committed to providing our faculty and staff the support they need to be successful in a virtual environment. More information is available online for teleworking and online teaching resources.
• We will have social distancing practices in place for faculty, staff and students who are on campus or are taking classes that cannot be delivered online.

We know this extraordinary situation will result in very real challenges for our community. I ask for your patience in the days ahead as we all adapt to this new reality and work through these challenges together. We will not have answers to all the questions that will immediately arise. This is a rapidly evolving situation not only for us, but for our state, our country and across the globe. What I can tell you is there is a dedicated UNC Charlotte team working tirelessly in the face of unprecedented uncertainty to maintain the health and well-being of our 49er community, and to communicate those decisions to you as quickly as possible.

Students, faculty and staff will receive additional instructions today and in the days ahead, so it will be important to pay close attention to your email for NinerNotices and other email communications. You can also stay updated by visiting the Emergency Management website for the latest information and FAQs. If you don’t see your question addressed, please complete our inquiry form. While the volume of emails may exceed the team’s ability to respond individually to each question, we will use the inquiries to help inform additions to the FAQs and future campus updates.

Thank you for all your efforts to keep Niner Nation a safe and healthy community. Please take care of yourself and each other.

Sincerely,

Philip L. Dubois
Chancellor