January 21, 2022

Dear Members of Our Campus Community:

We are writing to keep you current on campus plans to resume in-person instruction on Monday, January 31, 2022, as planned and as described in the January 8 campus update. We are looking forward to the return to the classroom and to the vibrant life that these academic pursuits bring to our campus.

It’s because of our community — because of all of us — that this is possible. We have tested regularly, masked vigilantly, and adhered to our vaccination policy. We are so grateful for the efforts of each and every one of us.

Based on our extensive mitigation efforts, our robust testing and early detection program, our masking and vaccination requirements, our detailed planning, and our high vaccination rate among students, staff, and faculty, our COVID-19 Working and Planning Groups, our campus medical experts, and our Academic Senate have reaffirmed our plan to resume in-person instruction on January 31, 2022.

We have consulted extensively with our Academic Senate and members of the faculty, our deans and administrative colleagues, student leaders, staff, and campus medical experts, as well as with medical and public health experts from across the UC system and from our local agencies. Our campus faculty experts and medical team will follow up with a message to share some of the detailed classroom modeling and analysis they have done.

We have implemented, and will continue to implement, all public health protocols. We are following best practices regarding mitigation. We are committed to carefully monitoring and assessing cases on campus and in the County. We are prepared to make any changes needed based on public health guidelines and requirements.

  • The Academic Senate and Academic Affairs will provide more details and guidance for our faculty and instructors, including continuing exceptions for specific cases of medical vulnerability.
  • Student Affairs will provide additional information for our students and families. On January 13, in anticipation of in-person instruction, students were sent a checklist of requirements to attend in-person classes, developed by the COVID-19 Response Team and Student Affairs, which included notice that students should plan to return by January 25 in order to comply with testing and the mandated COVID vaccination booster (required for eligible students by January 31).
  • Our Return to Campus Working Group will continue to meet and provide guidance for supervisors and managers as staff return to their previously arranged work schedules.
  • We are pleased to announce that our partnership with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department to provide COVID-19 booster shots for our community at Embarcadero Hall in Isla Vista will be extended through the month of February. Appointments can be made through MyTurn, where the new dates will be posted soon.
  • Please refer to our campus COVID-19 information pages for updates and our dashboard of current COVID-19 cases. Questions can be sent to our COVID-19 Call Center at ucsb-covid19@ucsb.edu or by telephone at (805) 893-3113, weekdays 9am - 4pm.

The continuing uncertainty and rapidly changing scientific information associated with COVID-19 have made planning challenging throughout the pandemic. More importantly, we know that this situation has been extremely difficult for everyone in our campus community. Our appreciation for the fortitude, flexibility, and persistence everyone has shown through this unprecedented time in history cannot be overstated. The collective resilience of our campus community is reflected in our individual efforts, and in the progress we have made together.

My wife, Dilling, and I are so much looking forward to seeing you on campus during our daily campus walks. Thank you, and welcome back.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor