May 18, 2020

 

To: Graduate Faculty, Graduate Students, Directors of Graduate Studies/Program Directors, Program Administrators, LGS Staff

 

Dear Members of the Laney Graduate School Community:

 

First let me express my sincere wishes for your health and the health of your loved ones. I spent much of the weekend signing master’s theses and doctoral dissertations and I continue to be moved by the breadth and depth of scholarship produced by Laney Graduate School students. Even in these unspeakable times, graduate students relentlessly push the boundaries of our knowledge in exciting directions.

 

On Friday May 15, the Office of the Provost released a Return to Campus for Research Framework, a phased plan informed by public health guidance, pragmatism, and caution. If you have not read the document, I urge you to do so. You will find it here.

 

To support this plan, LGS is developing a simple form to be completed by graduate students who decide to return to research facilities that have been approved for re-opening by the appropriate departments, offices, schools, or units.  The form will be posted Friday, May 22. 

 

In Phase 2, starting on May 31, once a facility has been approved for limited opening, graduate students will gain access only if their presence is determined to be “critically necessary to maintain or establish research initiatives related to their academic progress” by their advisor and Director of Graduate Studies or Program Director. 

 

As Emory evaluates our readiness for Phase 3, on-campus research facilities, including libraries and other areas, may become available to a broader segment of graduate students, insofar as mitigation protocols for different facilities can sustain increased density.

 

Detailed instructions will be available on Friday May 22, with the form.

 

In the meantime, stay in close touch with your advisors and your DGS or PD. And stay well.

 

With best regards,

 

Lisa

 

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Lisa A. Tedesco, Ph.D.


Vice Provost for Academic Affairs – Graduate Studies


Dean, James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies

Professor, Rollins School of Public Health


Emory University