Dean’s Update 8/25/20

FACS VIRTUAL LEADERSHIP RETREAT

We are excited to host the 2020 FACS Leadership Retreat Saturday, Aug. 29. The virtual retreat will connect student Ambassadors and club/organizational leaders with the 38 member Alumni Board. Here is the link to the FACS Alumni Board Profiles https://www.fcs.uga.edu/alumni/get-involved-alumni-association-board.

This year’s annual retreat will link students with alumni through sessions like an Ask Us Anything panel discussion; Entrepreneurship and innovation to effect social change and lead businesses through entrepreneurial thinking; and career and leadership development. The students and the alumni board will conduct business to organize for the academic year ahead. 

Thanks in advance to the planning committee, Alexis Randall, Alumni Relations Director, and Cara Simmons and Student Success and Advising Center (SSAC) staff and student interns.

GRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES – JAN HATHCOTE FUND DEADLINE WILL BE SEPTEMBER 14^th

The Jan M. Hathcote Social Science Academic Support Fund  and graduate research grants program is for FACS M.S. or doctoral graduate students who have identified their research project, have the support of their major professor, and have a strong interest in the social sciences in the various departments of the college. 

A completed application form and a two page proposal https://www.fcs.uga.edu/docs/2018_Jan_M_Hathcote_Student_Research_Award_Application.pdf containing a brief statement of proposed research plan and request for funds are due Monday, September 14^th. Current FACS students should consult with their faculty advisors and obtain a copy of the guidelines from the Associate Dean or the department office. Up to $1,500 is available for the academic year 2020-2021.

FOUR FINALISTS TO INTERVIEW FOR VICE PROVOST FOR GRADUATE EDUCATON AND DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL              

Finalists for the position of Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School will be holding a series of virtual meetings with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and administrators in weeks ahead. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of these meetings will be held via video conference.

Each finalist will give a presentation on their vision for graduate education and the role of the Graduate School at the University of Georgia. The presentations will be followed by a Q&A period for the audience to engage with each candidate. Candidate interviews will be held over the three-week period August 27 through September 10.

The UGA Search Group will send details on the dates and times of these meetings to the participants. UGA faculty, staff, and students will be able to view each candidate’s presentation at the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School search page on the Provost’s Office website 24 - 48 hours after each presentation. Individuals without a UGA MyID who wish to view the presentations should contact the UGA Search Group, at ugasearchevents@uga.edu.

VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR WITH DEAN FOX THIS FRIDAY

Dean Fox will host a live virtual Coffee Hour, Friday, August 28, from 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm. It will be recorded.

Please feel free to drop in any time to ask questions related to DawgCheck, recap of the first week of instruction, or other updates. Participation is strictly voluntary!

To participate, visit this link:  https://zoom.us/j/93413402962

If you have a question you’d like to ask but can’t participate during the scheduled time, email it to Cal Powell at jcpowell@uga.edu and include Question in your subject header.

WORKPLACE AND EMPLOYEE SAFETY UPDATE

UGA students, faculty, and staff have COVID impacted communities throughout the state, the country, and the world. Now, FACS students, faculty and all employees, we need your help as the semester begins.

Immediate self-reporting is critical to helping us assess and respond to risks and exposures on campus. That’s why UGA created DawgCheck https://dawgcheck.uga.edu/: an easy-to-use, COVID-19 self-screening tool.

With DawgCheck, you can assess symptoms related to COVID-19 daily and report a positive COVID-19 test. No symptoms? Great! But still respond through DawgCheck every day before you leave your home or dorm. COVID-19 carriers can be asymptomatic, so using the DawgCheck tool every day is crucial to help us be proactive in stopping the spread.

After completing your symptom check, you will receive an email with instructions detailing next steps. Submitting a positive test for COVID-19 through DawgCheck will alert key UGA groups.

For students, the Student Care and Outreach team will reach out to help coordinate medical assistance, meal delivery, and housing while in isolation, as well as notify professors and provide other assistance as needed.

For faculty and staff, your supervisors will be alerted. In addition, Facilities Management will be notified of all positive test reporting to address needs for cleaning and disinfection. Finally, and very importantly, anyone submitting a positive test will be asked to retrace their steps and recall their contacts. This information will be shared safely and securely with the Georgia Department of Public Health to help facilitate contact tracing.

Please remind your undergraduate and graduate students to register for text message reminders through SSO for DawgCheck.

If a student is not tested on campus but receives a positive test result and they email you to tell you, advise the student to report it through DawgCheck if they have not already done so.

If you receive an email from Student Care and Outreach that a student has been tested positive for COVID-19, please reach out to the student that you received the email and want to make sure they can access their course materials through eLC. Another reason to remind all students of registering with DawgCheck so that you hear directly from Student Care and Outreach and in a timely manner.  

For DawgCheck Frequently Asked Questions, visit dawgcheck.uga.edu/support to learn more.

Resources are also available to help you in FACS. A four-person committee of administrators, student affairs staff and faculty is here to connect the resources. This ad hoc committee, as constituted by the Dean, will centralize management of pandemic-related college operations, including:

1. Coordinating response and implementing the COVID-19 Checklist (see Administrative Memo for Supervisors, August 19, 2020, scroll down to Re-Opening) when an employee or students tests positive, becomes symptomatic, and/or believes they have been exposed
2. Coordinating services in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, including but not limited to the Student Success and Advising Center (SSAC) liaison to Student Care and Outreach (SCO) (sco@uga.edu)
3. Coordinating the distribution of template email letter from Dean for purpose of exposure notification, adjusting faculty teaching resources including backup instructor as needed, adjusting classroom availability, and confirming and/or requesting Facilities Management Division (FMD) action;
4. Triaging individual queries from students, faculty and staff about common processes (e.g., daily reporting to campus, symptomatic monitoring, supervisor or faculty notification);
5. Supporting adoption of UGA policies (e.g., DawgCheck);
6. Informing broad and individual communications in the College consistent with FACS and UGA policy.

This committee is named COLT (COVID Operations Leadership Team) and members are Dean Linda Fox, Associate Dean Patti Hunt-Hurst, SSAC Assistant Director Melissa Garber, and Clinical Faculty Barbara Grossman.

For the employees you supervise who choose to use the Check for Symptoms tool in DawgCheck to monitor their symptoms daily, you will receive an email notification from DawgCheck that your employee has used the symptom checker in DawgCheck and has been given directions, based on the employee’s responses in the tool of their symptoms, not to report to work. If the employee is instructed not to report to work, the employee should contact you to discuss leave options or telework, if available, for the day.

Supervisors will also receive an email notification from DawgCheck if an employee in your area has been given directions to isolate, or if they have been given directions to quarantine, based on the information the employee provided in the Check for Symptoms tool. If the employee is instructed to isolate or quarantine, the employee should contact you to discuss leave options or telework, if available, for the isolation or quarantine period.  The isolation period is 10 days from the onset of symptoms and 24 hours have elapsed without a fever without the use of medication. The quarantine period is 14 days from a last possible exposure.

Finally, you will receive an email notification if an employee in your area has reported a positive COVID-19 test. Employees who test positive should not report to work and must remain in isolation until 10 days have passed since the onset of symptoms and 24 hours have elapsed without a fever without the use of medication. The employee should contact you to discuss leave options or telework, if available, for the isolation period.

Please do not share the names and information from any DawgCheck email with staff or co-workers in your office or work unit. Supervisors should contact their department head, dean, or the FACS COLT committee to inform them of the notification of a positive COVID-19 test for one of your direct reports and to receive further instructions from them regarding the positive test notification.

By doing your part to self-monitor everyday through DawgCheck and report, we can take the actions necessary to protect your fellow Bulldogs from potential exposure and help to contain the spread of the virus.

For the most up-to-date information and resources on COVID-19, visit http://coronavirus.uga.edu.

SCHEDULE (Dean’s travel and purpose during the next two weeks):

• Remote work contact: 706-224-6086 (cell call or FaceTime)
• Coffee Hour with the Dean, Friday, August 28, 2:00 pm (will be recorded) Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/93413402962
• The next Dean’s Update will be week of September 8, or earlier.

Sincerely,

Linda Kirk Fox

Dean

The College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia embraces a commitment to diversity by modeling for the state and nation a community of individuals and programs which seek to reduce prejudice, disparities, and discrimination and build a supportive environment for all.