Graduate Center Campus Reactivation Plan

Graduate Center flags

The Coronavirus pandemic has altered our lives, including how we at The Graduate Center will work together over the coming months to continue to pursue our mission of fostering advanced graduate education, original research and scholarship, innovative university-wide programs, and vibrant public events that draw upon and contribute to the complex communities of New York City and beyond. Throughout the pandemic, our students, faculty and staff have worked tirelessly to support each other and the greater CUNY and New York City communities to tackle the evolving challenges emerging and the pivot to remote learning, research and work. We also thank our exceptional essential personnel, who have maintained our beautiful campus building and kept the facility staffed during these unprecedented times, and who we will continue to do all we can to keep them healthy and safe.

Read the summary of The Graduate Center's Reactivation Plan. 
 

Establishing Policies and Guidelines


As a publicly supported research institution and post-graduate university located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, and at the pandemic’s first epicenter the United States of America, we have established policies and guidelines for our students, faculty, staff, vendors and facility users that are focused on:

  • Prioritizing everyone’s health and safety and implementing multiple approaches to minimize the risk of infection for all those working at The Graduate Center, and;
  • Monitoring and responding to local health metrics to inform decisions to increase or decrease campus activity and occupancy, and;
  • Being equitable, fair, and transparent with our policies, guidelines, and decisions, and;
  • Supporting first responders, contract tracers, and our local communities in containing outbreaks.

The following reactivation plan has been developed with the goal of keeping The Graduate Center and local community safe, using a phased approach to increasing on-campus activities that complies with federal, state, city, and CUNY policies and guidelines. Recognizing that our students, faculty and staff are our most important assets, The Graduate Center is committed to providing a safe and healthy campus for all members of our community. Our priority is to enable all to learn, research and work in the safest place possible, recognizing that the parameters may vary depending on each individual’s responsibilities and situation. We recognize that the threat from COVID-19 is not over. It continues to affect our community in different ways, including how, when and where many of are able to conduct our work, engage in research and come together.

The Graduate Center reactivation guidelines, CUNY Guidelines for Safe Campus Reopening, and state-issued industry guidelines have been reviewed by the Interim Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration, Brian A. Peterson, the Interim Senior Vice President and Provost, Julia Wrigley and President Robin Garrell. Interim Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration, Brian A. Peterson will act as the Coronavirus Campus Coordinator, with responsibility to ensure continuous compliance with all aspects of this plan.

Our campus reactivation plan includes multiple precautions to protect the health and safety of everyone at The Graduate Center and limit the risk of infection, including social distancing, restricted building access, occupancy limits, staggered work schedules, required PPE, and cleaning and disinfecting protocols. The Graduate Center will also seek disclosure of COVID-19 symptoms or probable contact by personnel and students coming to the campus.

It is important to note that returning to work on campus as of August 2020 is completely voluntary for any non-essential personnel and visitors are not permitted on campus at this time. All meetings, public programs and campus-sponsored events will be conducted virtually until further notice.

If there is reason to suspect increased risk to community safety or health, The Graduate Center will revert to an earlier phase, or make specific, localized adjustments to reduce further risk. The Graduate Center reserves the right to modify this plan based on emerging medical standards or changes to CUNY, city, state, or federal policies and regulations.
 

Sections of the Reactivation Plan



Additional Details

Summary of Graduate Center Policies for Reactivating Campus Operations
The Graduate Center’s Coronavirus Campus Designees as per CUNY Guidelines
Reactivation Committee
Communications Plan
Compliance
Affirmation