UA shifting to essentials-only

Other operations, student housing to close, chancellor says

FAYETTEVILLE — Only “essential operations” are to continue on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus, and student housing is to close April 3, Chancellor Joe Steinmetz said in a message to the UA community Wednesday.

Steinmetz said no covid-19 illness has been found on campus, but earlier in the day government officials disclosed the first presumptive case in Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas.

“Our primary concern is to reduce the spread of the virus while continuing to serve our campus community to the best of our abilities,” Steinmetz said in the message posted online a few minutes before 5 p.m. and sent out in an email to the campus.

For the “vast majority” of UA’s employees, which total about 5,200, the announcement Wednesday means they are to work remotely beginning today “until further notice,” Steinmetz said. The university’s Pat Walker Health Center will remain open, and academic deans may authorize “essential research” on campus to continue “if the principles of social distancing are strictly adhered to,” Steinmetz said.

The covid-19 illness is thought to spread from person to person when people are in close contact — within about 6 feet — as the infection passes through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Students still living on campus may request an exemption from the housing closure “for reasons including personal safety, access to Internet, no other available housing, academic distress or other legitimate reasons,” Steinmetz said. International students, in particular, “may not have appropriate alternative options” and will be provided housing, Steinmetz said.

Among the state’s four largest public universities, UA is the only school to have announced a planned closure of campus housing before the end of its semester, set to end with finals May 4-7. Arkansas State University, the second-largest university in the state, as well as the University of Central Arkansas

and Arkansas Tech University as of Wednesday continued operating housing and dining without any stated plans to stop those services before the end of the spring semester.

But several private institutions in the state last week announced the closure of residence halls, some citing concerns that residential life could ease the spread of the coronavirus.

Most students on campus who spoke to the Democrat-Gazette this week said the majority of classmates had already left UA housing and Greek houses with spring break approaching next week.

The changes at UA began last Thursday when Steinmetz announced an immediate suspension of in-person classes, one day after the state reported its first identified covid-19 case. Remote instruction began this week.

On-campus resources for students like libraries and support centers remained open, however, while other students living off-campus still arrived to work in their campus jobs.

“It’s been a whole lot of anxiety, especially with switching everything over to online. Not only that, but making sure I have a place to stay because I have jobs up here that I can’t just abandon,” said Kenny Reed, 21, a student from Osceola in eastern Arkansas.

Reed, a double-major in Spanish and sociology, said one of his jobs involved campus work as a mentor. He’s supporting himself financially, he said.

Despite his own concerns, Reed said he agreed with the university’s decision to close housing.

“You can’t keep track of all the students that are traveling over spring break. I think this was a good call,” Reed said. He said he wasn’t sure yet if he would apply for an exemption.

Steinmetz said that for students in the federal workstudy program — a needbased form of financial aid — the university plans to keep paying work-study students through the remainder of the semester.

UA spokesman Mark Rushing, asked about other campus jobs employing students, said in an email that workers generally will work from home “unless otherwise directed by their supervisor.” Steinmetz, in his message, did not refer to other student workers besides those in the work-study program, but he did state that a “very limited number of employees” without essential roles could be classified as “available” to assist.

The university also employs students as resident assistants who live in campus residence halls.

“Our resident assistants have choices to make just like other students. Some will be leaving but they will be compensated as usual for as long as they are here fulfilling their RA duties,” Rushing said.

Housing costs vary by residence at UA, but per semester are estimated to be about $3,645, according to UA’s website.

With students not finishing the semester in housing, “we are awaiting guidance from the University of Arkansas board of trustees and the University of Arkansas System regarding any potential reimbursements” to student accounts, Rushing said.

For UA staff members, the announcement comes a day after the university, in a message to all workers, said supervisors had “significant discretion” in allowing for employees to work remotely.

Trish Watkins, chairman of the university’s staff senate and director of grants, finance and human resources at the World Trade Center Arkansas, said Wednesday that the chancellor’s announcement was “a smart decision.”

“I also believe that the staff remaining on campus for now — public safety, health, dining, transit — are in line with other essential personnel still working throughout our city, state, and country, and are just that — essential,” Watkins said in an email. “Staff are dedicated to having as much normalcy as possible while working and operating remotely.”

Steinmetz also announced that UA’s “acute communicable illnesses” outbreak policy was taking effect, which outlines leave procedures should an employee become ill from the outbreak. The policy states “accrued sick leave” would be used, then, if that is exhausted, “annual leave or comp time.” If those forms of leave are exhausted, “the employee may be allowed to use leave without pay,” subject to approval of the president of the University of Arkansas System, the policy states.

ASU on Tuesday announced a similar “public health emergency” leave policy in effect through May for the entire ASU System.

Steinmetz said the April 3 date for the closure of housing applies to Greek houses. But “several” fraternity and sorority houses at UA had already closed for the semester, Parice Bowser, Greek Life director, said in an email.

“Decisions to close those facilities were self-mandated by their house corporations and alumni,” Bowser said. She did not respond to a question about how many houses had closed.

Sara Feather, 20, a member of the Phi Mu sorority said in an email Wednesday before Steinmetz’s closure announcement that several house members had decided to return home for the semester. For those that had remained, changes were in effect, including “not allowing any guests into the house.”

Feather, a sophomore pre-medical student from Searcy, said she preferred to stay in the house but understood that “safety is the No. 1 priority.”

Grayson Laman, a sophomore from Bentonville and member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, spoke before Steinmetz announcement outside the fraternity house, his campus home.

But Laman, with a few remaining house residents who were enjoying some sunshine after several cloudy days, lamented how most of their fraternity brothers had already left. Out of about 70, around 15 remained in the house, they said.

“It’s just kind of sad and depressing to see everything shut down,” Laman said.