Plan for additional safety measures

Message from David Stewart, Faculty Association President sent to members of the Faculty Association on August 17, 2021.

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Dear Colleagues,

Early this morning we learned that the Universities of Calgary, Alberta and Lethbridge were planning to jointly release a plan with additional safety measures for the fall return to campus. That plan has been released and was distributed to the university community just after 10 AM this morning. I welcome these additional measures which seem largely consistent with the concerns I communicated to you yesterday. I look forward to reviewing the details that will be necessary for these plans to be implemented and I will not be commenting further until we have had the opportunity to discuss these matters with the University Administration and the leadership of other campus unions.

I appreciate the efforts that many of you have made to persuade the administration to introduce additional protective measures. Many in the university community, including many of you, signed an open letter calling on the University of Calgary to implement additional measures. This kind of initiative is critical in ensuring that the administration understands the concerns of academic staff and indeed the university community more broadly. When I last checked this morning more than 1500 people including over 700 students and almost 400 members of academic staff had signed this open letter which is now closed. I believe that the steps taken today are positive and I will continue to do my best to ensure that the administration hears our views and concerns moving forward.

Best wishes,
David

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David K Stewart
President of The University of Calgary Faculty Association and Professor of Political Science