Dear Campus Colleagues,

I want to update you on the plans for restarting research and creative activities as a follow on to President Struppa’s message about the CU Safety Back plan and Provost Pfeiffer plan for Summer and Fall Teaching. As noted in the CU Safety Back plan, the base level of the mitigation strategy for Chapman is Physical Distancing, Surveillance, Public Health Interventions, Face Coverings, and Sanitation which are all important aspects of a plan for restarting research and creative activities.

I am leading the Task Force for Restarting Research which consists of faculty, deans, and other administrators to develop a comprehensive Phased Approached to Restarting Research and Creative Activities that support your timely activities and aligns with the State of California Roadmap. This approach will restart activities gradually in four phases:

  • Phase 1: Critical (Essential) Activities (currently in this Phase)
  • Phase 2: Other non-essential research activities that are time-sensitive or require campus facilities (e.g., student completion, grant deadlines, summer fieldwork)
  • Phase 3: Expansion to other activities that are not included in Phase 2 and can not be conducted remotely
  • Phase 4: Activities after all stay-at-home orders are lifted

The exact timing of moving from Phase 1 to 2 is not known at this time and will be done when we can do it safely based on guidance from State and local authorities and university officials. Faculty and researchers are encouraged to continue to conduct research remotely to ensure health and safety.

The Task Force is working hard on developing guidance so responsible parties can be prepared with assessment and site-specific plans to safely restart research and creative activities in compliance with all requirements. For the initial restarting of activities in Phase 2, this includes those activities that require campus facilities or are time-sensitive:

  • Laboratory-based research
  • Human subjects research
  • Animal studies
  • Fieldwork
  • Studio activities

The specific guidance for these areas and further information on the timing of moving from Phase 1 to Phase 2, will be forthcoming. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.