March 26 Staff Forum Recap

Approximately 300 staff tuned into the virtual staff forum on March 26. Shari Stier (HR) welcomed everyone and introduced Julie Avis-Rogers (Spiritual Life), who announced some events being held to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic. A virtual community gathering was held that afternoon to create a space for the recognition of the tangible and ambiguous losses that the community has experienced over the last year. She also mentioned that there is a remembrance table in the lobby of 172 Tremont, where community members can light an electric candle in memory of loved ones lost. Members are invited to share names of loved ones lost to be placed on the table using this form. Lastly, she announced that the Spirit of Emerson’s Monday morning community pause on March 29 would be dedicated to Emerson community members who have experienced losses due to the pandemic.

Next, President Pelton gave some brief remarks. He thanked Avis-Rogers for marking the one-year anniversary of the pandemic and then acknowledged the grief felt by staff who are a part of the AAPI community, as well as allies of the AAPI community, in the wake of the mass shooting that occurred in Atlanta a few weeks ago. He noted that the staff forum marked the first in a series of his goodbyes, as his departure is occurring in about seven weeks. He thanked staff for their commitment and support, and said that it would be hard for him to leave the Emerson community, where he “became the president and person he was meant to be.” He closed by saying that the presidential search is going well and that he is certain his successor will be outstanding and will exceed what he himself has accomplished over the past 10 years.

Erik Muurisepp (Campus Life), the lead of the COVID-19 Operations Team, provided an update on the College’s COVID planning next. He started by thanking staff for their support as the College continues robust testing, isolation, and quarantine programs. He said that as of January 11, 52,000 COVID tests have been administered in the community. There have been around 105 positive cases since the start of the spring semester, which the Operations Team had planned for due to the increase in cases locally and nationally. No more than 10 students have been in quarantine or isolation at a time. He said that three staff members have taken sick time due to quarantine or isolation, and he thanked staff for contributing to the sick bank. He also gave a shout-out to Housing and Residential Education, Dining Services, and Campus Services for their help with the quarantine and isolation programs for on-campus students. He said that he and his team are working on plans for the summer and fall now. He encouraged people to pre-register for vaccinations on the state website and reiterated that Tufts Medical Center will not have enough supply to vaccinate the Emerson community. He closed by saying that Emerson community members will still be required to take COVID tests prior to coming on campus, even if they are vaccinated.

Paul Dworkis (Administration and Finance) took the floor next to speak about the College’s financial affairs. He said that, for the current fiscal year, the College has lost $30 million in revenue due to COVID, which was at the lower end of its forecasting. In addition, the College invested $5 million in a comprehensive testing and contact tracing program; more than $4 million in de-densifying the campus by renting spaces at hotels, and millions more in campus health and wellness measures. He said that the financial hit was lessened thanks to the staff hiring freeze, suspension of staff’s annual increase and retirement plan matching, and a 10 percent reduction in operating costs across the College. He also reported that the College was able to lessen the financial hit without any staff furloughs or layoffs. Regarding the future outlook, he said that the College will continue to steer responsibly. The College is still unsure about what the fall will bring, so he couldn’t promise anything regarding benefits and salary increases being reinstated. He mentioned that most staff will work remotely through the summer, and a sub-committee has been tasked with thinking about how staff will return to campus in the fall. Staff will receive two to four weeks’ notice for returning to campus. He also encouraged staff to take a survey on benefits changes that will be released in the coming weeks.

Stier moderated a Q & A portion, relaying questions from staff that had been collected ahead of time. There were a number of questions about the future of remote work at Emerson. Dworkis said that leadership wants some kind of return to campus, but it has to be in a safe and health-conscious way. He noted that being on campus is essential for many jobs, but the College is looking at its utilization of space and the potential for some staff to work on campus on a rotational basis. President Pelton jumped in and said that the pandemic has provided us with an opportunity for changing our way of operating, and that we will have failed if our post-pandemic landscape looks the same as our pre-pandemic landscape.

When asked who will be deciding who will continue to work remotely, Stier said that once we know more about what the fall semester will look like, the College will know more about which positions can continue to be remote. She said that HR will be sending out another pulse survey, similar to the one that was sent out in the fall. There are also committees in many departments that are working on different scenarios. Someone asked if vaccinations will be required for on-campus staff, and Muurisepp said that his team is still working on that issue. Stier mentioned that people can go into their Workday account and upload an image of their vaccination card, but that is a voluntary action at the moment.

Next, Michaele Whelan (Academic Affairs) spoke about the upcoming 10-year comprehensive review for accreditation being done by the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE). The NECHE team will be visiting the campus in September 2022. Over the next three semesters, the College’s work will entail the creation of a candid self-study of what it has accomplished, what it still needs to improve upon, and projections for the future. Many new and existing committees will work on the self-study, and a draft narrative will be sent to the entire community next spring for feedback. Iterative drafts of the NECHE standards will be reviewed to gather feedback in the fall. Academic Affairs will continue to update the community on the process, and volunteers are welcome to get involved. Whelan said that interested staff should contact her or Brooke Knight (Academic Affairs) after receiving approval from their manager first.

The forum ended with a few more questions from participants. The question about whether or not students could work remotely during the summer was posed, and the response was that Student Employment is still figuring it out and there would be an answer in a few weeks. The last question concerned what would happen if Pelton’s departure occurred before a new president was hired. Pelton responded that there will be an interim president if there is a lag of a month or more, and that the Board of Trustees would appoint the interim president.

Nancy Howell (Communications and Marketing)