Carnegie Mellon University

COVID-19 Updates

Information and resources for the CMU community

Scotty with mask and vaccination bandaid
June 05, 2020

Update to Phased CMU Reopening

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Community:

As most of you are aware, effective today, Friday, June 5, Allegheny County will move into the “green” phase as part of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s plan for reopening the state’s economy. This is good news and we are encouraged by how our region has managed the pandemic thus far.

The change in the county’s status does not alter our own phased approach to reopening the CMU campus and our facilities. We know many of you are eager to get back on campus, but you must wait until you are notified by your supervisor before doing so. As plans for various activities are identified and approved, vice presidents and deans will begin to advise their respective units on when and how to resume work on campus. Until then, those who are working remotely should continue to do so.

Daryl Weinert, chief of staff to the president, has been appointed to serve as CMU’s COVID-19 Coordinator, and will be working closely with us, as well as the deans and other senior leadership, on the implementation of plans for the phased return of research, education and other activities discussed in recent communications. In this, he is supported by a team of CMU subject matter experts, as well as CMU’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Team.

Together they have been working over the last several months to develop minimum requirements for returning to campus, including important mitigation measures such as physical distancing and symptom monitoring, as well as training and other precautionary measures that will be needed as we return. We are paying specific attention to the issues of testing and contact tracing, and are working to ensure we have appropriate systems for these in place over the summer as the campus becomes more active.

In the coming weeks and months, university leadership will continue to review and follow guidance from federal, state and local officials, including Governor Wolf’s recently released guidelines for higher education.

We are confident that our current phased approach is the best way to ensure a safe, healthy and successful return to campus. We look forward to Daryl keeping our community apprised as efforts progress and plans evolve, and we appreciate your patience and resolve as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Jim Garrett, Provost
Michael McQuade, Vice President for Research