August 9, 2021
UW System President Tommy Thompson, UW Board of Regents President Edmund Manydeeds III, UW Board of Regents, Chancellor Blank, Provost Scholz, Members of the University Committee, and Members of the Academic Staff Executive Committee:
We are writing out of grave concern about the health risks due to the crowded indoor conditions on campus when we return to full in-person instruction. We demand that the UW System, UW–Madison, and our state government implement evidence-based best practices for public health in higher education. Other peer institutions are implementing vaccine requirements (as at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, Indiana University, University of Colorado Boulder, Michigan State University, and others, including large public universities). Institutions of higher education are also implementing protective measures additional to encouraging COVID-19 vaccines, such as regular COVID-19 testing for people who are not fully vaccinated and masking (as at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Additionally, other campuses are limiting capacity, including holding large lectures remotely (as at University of Colorado Boulder).
We acknowledge that this is not the fall semester any of us were hoping for, but it is crucial to recognize that the Delta variant has radically changed the situation nationally and in Dane County. On June 24, when Chancellor Blank released plans for Fall 2021, the 7-day average of new cases in Dane County was 4.4; on August 5 it was 75.3. A study from UW–Madison found that vaccinated individuals carried as much virus in their nasal passages as unvaccinated individuals. According to data gathered by the New York Times, the ICUs at UW Hospitals and Clinics, St. Mary’s Hospital, and Meriter Hospital are all at or above 90% capacity. Even before the return of students to the fall semester, Dane County has reached the “substantial” level of community transmission: measures that might have been sufficient based on the available data in June are now inadequate.
It is our duty to protect the health and well-being of our students, colleagues, and community members. We are particularly concerned for members of our community who are most vulnerable, including those who are immunocompromised, those with children under 12 and/or other vulnerable family members, and those from communities already hardest hit by the pandemic. A recent report highlights racial and socioeconomic disparities among students reporting they had COVID-19, and Dane County’s vaccination numbers show enormous disparities along racial/ethnic lines.
We contend that the extenuating nature of this pandemic warrants requiring vaccines: over 600,000 people have lost their lives in the US alone and many more are experiencing long-lasting symptoms and trauma from COVID-19. In a span of 15 months, the pandemic has led to more U.S. deaths than World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined.
The American College Health Association, of which UW System is a member, recommends vaccine requirements for Fall 2021, a policy pursued by hundreds of campuses across the nation. We urge UW–Madison leadership to follow the lead of UW–Milwaukee and assert our right to set policy to protect students, workers, and the community.
We are further alarmed that the current plans for Fall 2021 disregard ACHA guidelines for campuses without vaccine mandates. These plans include a return to full in-person large lectures, negating the possibility of physical distancing, no requirements for testing other than in the dorms, and full-capacity sporting events. The ACHA guidelines caution:
“If a COVID-19 vaccine requirement is not implemented, it will be extremely important for IHEs to remain at heightened alert with their current oversight of population-based strategies to mitigate and contain the spread of COVID-19. Physical distancing, masking, control of group sizes, appropriate ventilation, advanced testing strategies, and rapid contact tracing would likely need to be continued” (ACHA guideline, p. 2).
The CDC updated guidelines for Institutes of Higher Education and the US Department of Education similarly emphasize the importance of prevention strategies that reduce spread where there is a mixed population of people who are fully vaccinated and those who are not fully vaccinated. The ACHA whitepaper released in July 2021 states that even institutions recommending vaccines should “continue physical distancing, control of group sizes, appropriate ventilation, advanced testing strategies, and rapid contact tracing” (p. 31). The current measures are not enough and will lead to illness and disruption throughout campus and the greater Madison community.
We call on the University of Wisconsin–Madison and UW System to:
1) Require all students, faculty, and staff who will be on campus to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
2) Continue to require masking and social distancing.
3) Continue to require frequent testing among unvaccinated staff, students, and faculty and implement randomized testing among all staff, students, and faculty, regardless of vaccination status.
4) Utilize best practices for improved ventilation.
5) Institute a more flexible policy on remote or hybrid teaching modalities for all faculty, instructional academic staff, and graduate instructors.
6) Increase investments in UW–Madison’s mental healthcare resources to address the mental health challenges accompanying a year and a half of death, illness, and disruption.
7) Allow for broad flexibility in remote work arrangements for all campus workers.
The Delta variant surging right before the start of the Fall 2021 semester has increased the urgency for UW–Madison and the UW System to implement additional safety measures as is being done on campuses around the nation.
UW System, including UW–Madison, students, staff, faculty, administrators, and the wider community, deserves implementation of evidence-based best practices in public health on our campuses in which to learn and work.
Signed,
Hannah V. Eldridge, UFAS Treasurer, Associate Professor, Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+
Emily M. Reynolds, UFAS Secretary, Academic Staff
Clare Michaud, UFAS Equity & Diversity Committee Chair, Academic Staff, Data Science Hub
Jason Lee, UFAS Co-President, Academic Staff, School of Social Work
Katherine Charek Briggs, UFAS Co-President, Academic Staff, Student Affairs
Michael Childers, UFAS Grievance Committee Chair, Professor, School for Workers
Anna Paretskaya, UFAS Compensation and Benefits Committee Chair, Lecturer, Department of Sociology
Susan Nossal, Academic Staff, Physics Department
Steve Goldstein, Data Scientist, Data Science Institute and Botany Department
Brett Hoover, Academic Staff, Graduate School
Elizabeth Jach, PhD, Academic Staff, School of Education
Andrew Hoffman, Academic Staff, Division of Information Technology
Carin Loewen, Teaching Faculty 1, Genetics
Alice Ogden-Nussbaum, Academic Staff, College of Letters and Science
Colleen Baldwin, Academic Staff, Department of Medicine
James P. Nelson III, Academic Staff
Catherine Shults, Research Administrator, Mechanical Engineering
Justin J. Boutilier, Faculty, College of Engineering
Julia, Academic Staff, School of Medicine and Public Health
Teresa Uyen Nguyen, Academic Advising Services, College of Letters and Science
Jennifer Morgan, Academic Staff, OVCRGE
Karl Broman, Faculty, Biostatistics & Medical Informatics
Dorothea Salo, Academic Staff, College of Letters and Science
Nicholas Pedriana, Senior Lecturer, Sociology
Nina Varsava, Faculty, Law School
Aimee Glassel, Academic Staff, General Library System
American Association of University Professors, UW-Madison Chapter Executive Committee
Kelly Krein, Academic Staff, Student Affairs
Alexa Ross, Academic Staff, OVCRGE
Mitra Sharafi, Faculty, Law School
Caitlin Clark, Academic Staff, School of Nursing
Monica Macaulay, Faculty, Language Sciences
Preeti Chopra, Faculty, Art History
Jane Peace, Academic Staff, University Health Services
Lydia Zepeda, Professor Emeritus, Consumer Science
Gloria Whiting, Faculty, Department of History
Wisconsin University Union Executive Board
Alyssa Phelps, Academic Staff, Student Affairs
Jen Birstler, Academic Staff, Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics
Tabitha Faber, Graduate Student, Botany
Mary Thompson, Academic Staff, Division of Teaching and Learning
Patrick Heck, Academic Staff, CIMSS & Madison Alder, District 2
Stewart Macaulay, Professor Emeritus, Law School
Erika Marin-Spiotta, Faculty, Geography
Dr. Bernier, Academic Staff, Student Affairs
Allison Bender, Academic Staff, OVCRGE
Amani DeHolton, Academic Staff, International Division
Jeffrey Henriques, Distinguished Lecturer, Psychology
Benjamin Farral, Senior Research Specialist, Department of Medicine
Deb, Academic Staff, Office of Strategic Consulting
Jenny Braunginn, Field Faculty, School of Social Work
Allison Powers Useche, Faculty, History
Jim Greco, Distinguished Faculty Associate, Education
Jennifer Drake, Instructional Staff, School of Nursing
Catherine Voge, Clinical Associate Professor, School of Nursing
Megan McDonald, Academic Staff, Division of Continuing Studies
Katie Pavek, Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Marcus Cederstrom, Academic Staff, Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+
David Lovelace, Academic Staff, College of Letters and Science
Caroline Gottschalk Druschke, Faculty, Department of English
Martin Brubaker, Academic Staff, School of Medicine and Public Health
Leah Kechele, Faculty, School of Nursing
Alyssa Pon-Franklin, Academic Staff
Rebecca Brockman-Schneider, Academic Staff, Department of Pediatrics
Kate Vieira, Faculty, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Chris Butler, Academic Staff, UW Athletic Department
Kylie Lafayette, Academic Staff, School of Medicine and Public Health
Andrea Dutton, Faculty, Geoscience
Moira Cattapan RN, MSN, Faculty, School of Nursing
Elizabeth Soechting, Academic Staff, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Cindy Waldeck, Academic Staff, School of Social Work
Leema Berland, Faculty, Curriculum and Instruction
Brooke Barnhart, Academic Staff, Cross-College Advising Service
Sarah Ripp, Academic Staff, International Division
Chad Alan Goldberg, Faculty, Department of Sociology
Nathaniel Haack, Academic Staff, Graduate School
Dan Fitch, Academic Staff, Center for Healthy Minds
Leah S. Horowitz, Faculty
Harald Kliems, Academic Staff, School of Medicine and Public Health
Amihan Huesmann, Academic Staff, Physics
Jen Rose Smith, Faculty, Geography & American Indian Studies
Robert Kaiser, Faculty, Geography Department
Elizabeth Cox MD, Faculty, School of Medicine and Public Health
Courtney Berner, Executive Director, UW Center for Cooperatives
Nicole, Senior Research Specialist, Pediatrics
Anthony Gitter, Faculty, Biostatistics & Medical Informatics
Richard Lankau, Faculty, Department of Plant Pathology
Matthew Ginder-Vogel, Faculty, College of Engineering
Cabell Hankinson Gathman, Lecturer, Gender and Women’s Studies
Stephen Dennison, Graduate Research Assistant, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Bret Payseur, Faculty, Genetics
Mindy, Academic Staff, Master of Public Health Program
Tara Milliken, Academic Staff, Office of Undergraduate Advising
Page Metcalf, Academic Staff, College of Engineering
Adrienne Nienow, Academic Staff, College of Engineering
Kris Olds, Faculty, Geography
Ailea Merriam-Pigg, Graduate Student, Department of Communication Arts
Pete Schwieger, Academic Staff, Wisconsin Public Media
Katherine (Trina) McMahon, Faculty, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Bacteriology
Marissa Feller, Student
Arlene Koziol, Senior Guest Auditor
Lisa Rausch, Academic Staff, SAGE
Nicole Rombach, Academic Staff, College of Letters and Science
Lindsay Heiser Barger, Academic Staff, International Academic Programs
Zach Smith, Academic Staff, Mechanical Engineering
Sharad Chandarana, Academic Staff (Retired), Math Department
Emily Mixon, PhD Student + Teaching Assistant, Department of Geoscience
Michael Cardiff, Professor, Geoscience
B. Howington Academic Staff
Jordan Berken, Academic Staff, Student Affairs
Justyn Huckleberry, PhD Candidate, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Joseph A Mason, Professor, Geography, College of Letters and Science
Alison Spencer, Academic Staff, College of Letters & Science
Mary Noles, University Staff, French & Italian
Kassia Shaw, Graduate Student & Teaching Assistant, English Department
Amy Hilgendorf, Academic Staff, School of Human Ecology
Peter Haney, University Staff, Chican@ & Latin@ Studies
Georgette Paxton, Academic Staff, Biochemistry
Kristen Slack, Faculty, Social Work
M Koch, University Staff, School of Medicine and Public Health
Di Francis, University Staff, UW Biotechnology Center
Michelle Rondon, Academic Staff, CALS
Amanda Shubert, Lecturer, Department of English, Department of Communication Arts
Judith Burstyn, Faculty, Chemistry
Ryan Stowe, Faculty, Chemistry
Peter Timbie, Professor, Physics
Walter C. Stern, Faculty, Educational Policy Studies & History
Nalan Erbil, Academic Staff, German, Nordic, and Slavic+
Anna Meyer, Graduate Research Assistant, Computer Sciences
Judith Kingsbury, Outreach Specialist, OVCRGE
Brad Singer, Professor and Department Chair, Geoscience
Shaun Marcott, Faculty, Department of Geoscience
Deborah Chasman, Academic Staff, OBGYN
Alejandra Canales, Graduate Research Assistant, Neuroscience
Louise Meske, Academic Staff, Facilities Planning & Management
Melanie Kohls, Academic Staff, Geography
Chloë Bonamici, Faculty, Geoscience
Steven Wang, Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Erin, Academic Staff
Andy Quackenbush, Academic Staff, International Academic Programs
Emma Crawford, Manager of Financial Aid and Financial Wellness, School of Medicine and Public Health
Kurt Feigl, Professor, Department of Geoscience
Robert Kaiser, Professor, Geography
Jess Draws, Academic Staff, School of Engineering
Max Mershon, Academic Staff, UW Health-Geriatrics
Megan Kennedy, Teaching Assistant, Department of German, Nordic and Slavic+
James Tautges, Teaching Assistant, Math
Geoffrey Cureton, Academic Staff, CIMSS
Peter McDonald, Faculty, School of Education
John Rudolph, Faculty, School of Curriculum and Instruction
Kaycee Rogers, Academic Staff, School of Education
Noah Weeth Feinstein, Faculty, Curriculum and Instruction, Community & Environmental Sociology
Chris Kirchgasler, Faculty, Curriculum and Instruction
Casey Hanson, CAPSW, Graduate Student/Project Assistant, School of Medicine and Public Health/ La Follette School of Public Affairs
Monica Messina, Academic Staff, School of Medicine and Public Health
Kelsey Lewis, Postdoctoral Fellow, Gender & Women's Studies
Andrew Jason Turner, Academic Staff, DoIT Academic Technology
Ruth Goldstein, Faculty, Gender & Women’s Studies
Dou-Yan Yang, Academic Staff, Surgery
Katie Kirchgasler, Faculty, Curriculum and Instruction
Matt Villeneuve, Assistant Professor, History
Barret Elward, Academic Staff, College Of Engineering
JoAnne E. Lehman, Academic staff, General Library System