February 14, 2022

Dear Members of Our Campus Community:

Following consultation with our campus medical experts, the Academic Senate, student leaders, deans, members of the staff and administration, and medical colleagues systemwide, UC Santa Barbara has decided to continue our existing campus masking policy, including the requirement for masking in indoor public spaces, through the end of Winter Quarter (March 18). Our campus medical experts, COVID-19 Working Group and Response Team are continuing to meet on a daily basis to assess COVID-19 policies and scientific data and to review and revise, as warranted, our campus mitigation protocols.

We have heard from many in our community how critical these policies have been in navigating our return to campus. We also have heard from some who wish to see protocols changed, especially now that some public health officials have revised some of their masking requirements.

The mitigation efforts that we have had in place throughout Fall and Winter Quarters have been instrumental in allowing all of us to return to in-person instruction and to gradually increase our on-campus activities. Although masking guidelines may have changed in Santa Barbara County and California for some indoor activities, we believe that it would be prudent to continue our current campus policies for classrooms, offices, and indoor events through the end of the Winter Quarter. CalOSHA continues to require that all employees wear face masks when indoors and in vehicles.

The ongoing decline in cases across California and in Santa Barbara is welcome news, but we recognize there is still substantial transmission of the disease in the broader Santa Barbara County community as well as some other Southern California counties.  We look forward to the prospect of adjusting our existing COVID-19 protocols for most campus activities in Spring Quarter, assuming the current trends and risks of transmission continue to decline as predicted by current modeling.

We are committed to continuing to rely on our deliberate and consultative process to determine the best path forward for our campus community, relying on the most up-to-date scientific information and medical/public health best practices. Our campus medical experts and COVID-19 Response Team will share updated information on campus event protocols in the coming week and will update our community on any additional changes to campus mitigation guidelines.    

We are grateful to be a part of a community that looks out for each other, and takes individual action for the benefit of all. By working together as a unified community, we have been able to meet the challenges of the pandemic. We are deeply grateful for your — and all of our — efforts.  

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor

Susannah Scott
Chair, Academic Senate

David Marshall
Executive Vice Chancellor

Joe Incandela
Vice Chancellor, Research

Margaret Klawunn
Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs

Garry Mac Pherson
Vice Chancellor, Administrative Services

Jeffrey Stewart
Interim Vice Chancellor, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Gerardo Aldana
Dean, College of Creative Studies

Steve Gaines
Dean, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management

Charles Hale
Dean, Social Sciences

Mary Hancock
Interim Dean, Humanities and Fine Arts

Jeffrey Milem
Dean, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education

Michael Miller
Interim Dean, Undergraduate Education

Tresa Pollock
Interim Dean, College of Engineering

Leila Rupp
Interim Graduate Dean

Pierre Wiltzius
Executive Dean, College of Letters & Science
Dean, Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences

Scott Grafton
Campus COVID-Mitigation Program Manager and Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Stuart Feinstein
COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator and Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Vejas Skripkus
Executive Director of Student Health and Campus Physician

Mary Ferris
Campus COVID-19 Clinical Advisor