Message from the President and Provost

Due to the unprecedented emergency situation that has resulted in the declaration of a Public Health Emergency in Newfoundland and Labrador, Memorial University is enacting further measures related to buildings access on all our campuses to enhance social distancing and keep our community safe. By ensuring we are aware of who is on campus, we are better able to protect the health and safety of our faculty, staff and students who must come to campus.

These measures align with public health guidance. The details of how these measures will happen are outlined below, and have been approved by the president, provost, and vice-presidents.

Your cooperation is required to ensure we are doing everything possible to protect our community and slow the spread of COVID-19. Thank you in advance and please see below for the details of how these measures will be implemented.

Dr. Vianne Timmons, president and vice-chancellor
Dr. Noreen Golfman, provost and vice-president (academic)

Building access

Beginning Tuesday, April 21, Memorial is implementing further building access controls. These enhance social distancing, continue to reduce foot traffic at our facilities, and reduce the demand on custodial and other resources. Please see the list of controlled- and limited-access buildings here.

This means doors will remain locked and you will not have the access you currently do. There are three levels of access changes: controlled access; faculty/staff limited access; and faculty/staff/students limited access.

Please note that in all cases access to all on-campus research labs/research spaces on each of Memorial’s campuses remains subject to the exemption process outlined in the March 27, 2020, statement from the vice-president (research) (VPR), available online. No on-campus research or scholarly activities in research labs/research spaces on Memorial’s campuses are to continue without receipt of a VPR exemption approval letter.

Controlled access means full building lock down. Only members of Campus Enforcement and Patrol (CEP), Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), Facilities Management (FM), and as required, Information and Technology (IT) resources may freely enter controlled access buildings. FM and CEP will conduct regular walkthroughs of all building areas. The temperature is set to normal evening/weekend set-points (24 hours) and the cleaning schedule is halted. Faculty or staff access, including to research labs/ research spaces for which the VPR has granted an exemption, will only be available through special arrangement and must be coordinated as follows:

• St. John’s and Signal Hill campuses: consult with the unit head.  If approved by the respective vice-president, the request will be forwarded to Facilities Management, Work Control (facman@mun.ca), who will advise of the building access schedule and arrange access.
• Marine Institute: To be coordinated through the associate vice-president (Marine Institute) administration and finance, designate for the vice-president (Marine Institute).
• Grenfell Campus: consult unit head and if approved, arranged through CEP.

Faculty/staff limited access means access via designated entrance(s) with key or card; access only by faculty and staff performing critical on-campus functions, including research activities for which a VPR exemption has been granted. Only rooms/areas designated critical will be cleaned and serviced, the temperature will be set back in non-critical function areas to evening/weekend set-points and appropriate signage will be placed at entrance(s). Buildings will operate under reduced hours – determined by building as necessary.

Faculty/staff/students limited access means access via designated entrance(s); access only by faculty and staff performing critical on-campus functions and students requiring access to designated computer labs, including research activities for which a VPR exemption has been granted. Only rooms/areas designated critical will be cleaned and serviced, the temperature will be set back in non-critical function areas to evening/weekend set-points and appropriate signage will be placed at entrance(s). Buildings will operate under reduced hours – determined by building as necessary.

The level of restriction for each building is prioritized and shaped by the critical functions remaining on campus. This was determined through input from your units to the Emergency Operations Centre’s planning committee.

Returning before closure

Prior to these controls going into place, faculty and staff should only return to campus to collect essential items they require. If you have not heard from your unit or supervisor about your schedule for collection of items, please contact them. For individuals who still require equipment or files, please discuss with your supervisor to confirm and record removal using these forms for equipment and files.

Individuals returning to campus, whether in support of critical functions or to collect essential items, are required to follow public health protocols. This includes practicing social distancing (two metres apart), hand washing, not socializing and for those visiting campus to gather essential items, only coming to campus to collect what you absolutely require and immediately leaving once that is done. If coming to campus, please ensure removal of perishable items in kitchen refrigerators, otherwise custodial staff will dispose of these items.

If applicable, please review the research section of the COVID-19 page and unless already granted an exemption, complete the lab inspection checklist to ensure all closure protocol and expectations are in place. Teaching labs should follow this checklist.

Once controls are in place

After building access is controlled, and if you were not identified as performing a critical function that requires you to be on campus, then you must contact your unit head to seek access. They will assess the criticality of all requests and determine if a request needs to be elevated to your vice-president. If approved, arrangements will then be made to accommodate the visit. If you need to return to campus, please remember that regular custodial waste collection and cleaning is not in effect for controlled access buildings and these services are in effect in designated areas only for limited access buildings. Perishable waste must not be left in buildings.

Only individuals who must conduct critical functions requiring campus access should regularly visit campus.

We thank you in advance as we work through implementing these building controls, which are being put in place for everyone’s safety. If you have questions, please discuss with your supervisor or review the detailed FAQs.