Note: This continuity plan will be reviewed regularly and updated as needed.
Last Update: April 8, 2020
Stay Home Save Lives: The Governor executed an Executive Order for Stay Home Save Lives. It is effective immediately and is available here.
OSU COVID-19 updates, responses and resources can be found here. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is a particularly helpful resource.
Future updates: The state and the university will be reviewing matters on a frequent basis. As such, all of the above may be revised on short notice, resulting in further restrictions. Stay Home and Save Lives. We will get through this and the more we comply with state and university policies, the sooner we will get back to normal.
Cordley Hall will be locked and closed to the public. Access to the building by faculty, researchers, students and staff is allowed in order to execute critical and essential functions, but be sure you have your OSU ID with you. Clarity on critical and essential functions is provided below, but please keep in mind that the overall goal is the minimize the number of people in Cordley and the amount of time any one person spends in the building. Also, this is a fluid situation and things may change with little to no notice.
The Botany and Plant Pathology office will be staffed with one person from 10am to 2pm. The office is closed to in-person visits except in cases of an emergency. All other business and social interactions should be conducted by phone, Zoom, or email. A weekly schedule will be posted below with contact information.
The OSU Herbarium is closed until further notice.
The Plant Clinic is a critical and essential facility. It will remain open, but a COVID-19 plan is being implemented that only allows for plant specimens to mailed in or dropped off at a centralized location that does not require in-person contact. See the Plant Clinic website for updated information.
The Botany farm is a critical and essential facility. All trips to the Botany Farm should be to complete essential research functions only. They have requested that all office visits be ceased where possible. Emails from Kelly O’Neil and Dan Curry will be forwarded to the Department. For more specific information contact Kelly O’Neil or Dan Curry.
The NTS is a critical and essential facility. It will remain open, but a COVID-19 plan is being implemented that only allows for samples to be mailed in or dropped off at a centralized location that does not require in-person contact. See the Nematode Testing Service website for updated information.
Sudden Oak Death (SOD) testing is a critical and essential facility. The testing service will remain active, but a COVID-19 plan is being implemented that only allows for samples to be mailed in or dropped off at a centralized location that does not require in-person contact. Contact Jared LeBoldus for additional information.
No new experiments should be initiated at this time. All exterior doors will be kept locked. Access will be granted to essential personnel only. Each lab is to designate the minimal number of people who are essential. Please communicate these names to Jim Ervin, cc the Dept Head, and arrange for scheduled access to the greenhouses. Emails from Jim Ervin will be forwarded to the Department. For more specific information contact Jim Ervin.
Printing and mail, including express sending and receiving, are essential services. All mail and packages will be delivered to OSU Printing and Mailing. Up-to-date information can be found on the Printing & Mailing Services website. The department will arrange pickups and deliveries on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. PIs or designated laboratory personnel will be notified of deliveries. If you need a delivery or pickup on Tuesday or Thursday, contact Blaine Baker.
Teaching is considered a critical or essential function. Remote teaching should be delivered from home whenever possible. Faculty are allowed to teach remotely from campus, using campus internet, if they cannot do so from home. Cordley classrooms available for remote delivery of classes are 1064, 1070, 3077 and 3089. You must, however, practice social distancing within Cordley Hall. Please deliver what you can from home and come into Cordley Hall only when absolutely necessary.
All faculty who are teaching Spring term are required to upload all course materials to CANVAS, and deliver all lectures remotely using ZOOM and CANVAS at the regularly scheduled class times. All labs will also be delivered online. Laboratory supply kits will be mailed to students. A few exceptions to this practice exist for students that are on campus or in Corvallis. If students in Corvallis need to pick up supplies for the lab component of the course the following must be followed, and no additional in-person contacts or meetings are allowed:
The delivery of our Spring term courses is an “all hands on deck” situation and we must be prepared to chip-in where needed and were possible. With this in mind, we have identified teaching backups in case an instructor becomes ill and cannot physically deliver their class on line. Faculty, Instructors, and Graduate Students have volunteered to serve as backups for classes for which they have some expertise. All backup activities will be documented; the portion of a graduate student’s appointment will be converted to GTA; Instructors’ appointments will be adjusted as possible; and Faculty are asked to be prepared to assist in delivery of courses as needed. The list of backup instructors and GTAs will be distributed to each instructor of record and they will share their syllabus and provide Canvas access, as needed. For additional information regarding backup instructors and GTAs, contact Joey Spatafora and John Fowler.
Additional university information and resources can be found at Keep Teaching and Keep Learning.
The latest email from Anita Azarenko (Vice Provost for Extension and Engagement/ Director of the Extension Service) dated March 23, 2020:
All OSU travel needs to be approved by the Department and the College. For trips to regularly visited, local facilities (e.g., the Botany Farm, Hyslop and Lewis Brown), a blanket request can be made. Please fully comply with this requirement. Use this web power form to make requests. Emails from CAS will be forwarded to the Department.
Numerous elements of research are considered critical or essential functions. Determining what is critical and essential is determined by each laboratory PI in collaboration with the Department. The Research Office describes this as “idle” mode with respect to laboratory activities. The goal is to maximize personal and public health while minimizing negative impact on our research mission.
The OSU COVID-19 website FAQ page provides this policy explanation: “Until further notice, every laboratory should transition to minimal operations (e.g. “idle” mode). This level of operation should require only infrequent and short-term visits by critical personnel. Critical activities would be those that maintain the continued viability of large and complex projects, as well as unique specimens and collections; plants and animals or cultures; highly specialized analytical, manufacturing; computing facilities; and field-based facilities and laboratories. Researchers should consult with their department heads, deans or the vice president for research, as appropriate, to discuss research facilities that support essential research and to determine how best to transition labs and facilities.” Emails from Vice President for Research Irem Tumer will be forwarded to the department.
PIs and lab managers should routinely visit the OSU COVID-19 FAQ webpage for any updates. (Select “Researchers and Lab Managers” from the “Filter by Category” drop down menu.) Additional university information and resources can be found at Keep Working. Finally, prepare a plan that would provide for possible cessation of ALL research activities. An escalation of state and university responses to the spread of COVID-19 may occur with little advance notice.