Ithaca College

Dear Ithaca College Staff and Faculty:

As you may be aware, Governor Cuomo communicated on Friday, March 20, that as part of the “New York State on PAUSE” executive order, all non-essential businesses or entities must reduce their on-site personnel to zero by 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 22. According to guidance issued by the New York State Department of Economic Development (d/b/a Empire State Development), businesses or entities that provide both essential and non-essential services (like Ithaca College) may continue to provide the essential services because the operations that are necessary to support the essential services are exempt from the mandated on-site personnel reduction. Some examples of our essential services include public safety, facilities, IT, dining, health services, and residential life. It is important to note that Governor Cuomo made it clear that his executive order will be enforced for the safety of New York State residents.

Over the past few days, we have already been gathering information from units and departments to identify essential personnel (i.e., personnel who provide essential services as described by the Empire State Development Guidance referenced above). These lists are under review by the senior leadership team and you will be notified by your manager if you are determined to be essential personnel. Essential personnel will be expected to continue to report to work on campus and will be working a modified schedule. If you are not identified as essential personnel, you should NOT report to work on campus.

If you are non-essential personnel but have an urgent need to briefly come to campus for personal reasons or for business operations, you must have the express approval of your (1) manager, (2) Dean/VP, and (3) either the Provost (faculty) or the VP for HR and Planning (staff). Please take this directive seriously and stay away from campus unless absolutely necessary, for your own health and for the health of our community.

For non-exempt staff who cannot work remotely and are not scheduled to report to work on campus, please use the “COVID-19” paid leave type in IC HR Cloud for hours not worked during this period through April 5, 2020.

We know these are unsettling times and that you have many questions. In place of the All-Staff Meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, President Collado will be communicating soon about our first virtual faculty and staff gathering. We plan to host such gatherings regularly during these critical weeks. The senior leadership team has been working tirelessly to assess and respond to the changing landscape, and we are also exploring how we can best communicate with the entire campus while we are unable to be with you in person. More to come!

In the meantime, we want to recognize the incredible flexibility and resiliency of our entire community as we have radically transformed our work in a short period of time. Our faculty are preparing to begin delivering instruction remotely on Monday and our staff working from home have quickly adapted to the technology necessary to continue operations, often while managing competing priorities with children also being home from school.

We encourage you to continue to support each other and find ways to connect. Our hope is that we emerge from this difficult situation as an even stronger and closer community. If you have questions or concerns, please do reach out. Take care and stay home! 

Best regards,

Hayley Harris
Vice President for Human Resources and Planning 

La Jerne Terry Cornish
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs