Easing

From an email circulated this morning:

Dear Bruin Community:

Almost a year ago, I announced our intention to ramp-up research activities following a two-month period of dramatically curtailed research due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and resulting city and county Safer at Home orders.

Today, I am happy to announce that, effective June 1, 2021, the Research Operational Plan (ROP) program we launched with the move to Phase 2 of our ramp-up plan (PDF) is no longer required for research and creative activities, both on-campus and in the field; ROPs are also not required for research-related travel. PIs are able to populate their activities with researchers (e.g., staff, postdocs, graduate students, undergraduate students, high school students, volunteers, visiting scholars) as they deem necessary, so long as they continue to comply with all mandates from the CDC, California Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), and Cal/OSHA, including, but not limited to, those concerning personnel density, masking, and distancing. I am pleased to be able to remove this layer of additional review.

The elimination of ROPs means that personnel density limits and the restrictions placed on undergraduate researchers in campus laboratories are now lifted. Unfortunately, travel guidance for individuals who conduct field research remains unchanged. As such, with the ROP program ending, it is vital that you communicate directly with your department chair and dean (e.g., via email) prior to making arrangements for field research and other essential travel. PIs participating in field research are still required to complete a Field Safety Plan (DOCX) for EH&S review and approval.

As a reminder, LACDPH has not relaxed its masking requirements and Cal/OSHA continues to require masking and six-foot distancing in all workplace areas at the present time. It is the responsibility of each PI to ensure that their activities are in compliance with these requirements. PIs are further responsible for ensuring that they have articulated safety plans with all personnel on their team.

I thank you for the patience you have shown this last year. Please submit any comments or questions to C19@research.ucla.edu.

Sincerely,

Roger Wakimoto Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activities

UCLA in the News (in a good way)

From the LA Times: The year was 1969. It was a time of social protest over civil rights and representation issues. Those protests echoed at UCLA, where Mexican American students were demanding improved access to higher education, as well as greater resources devoted to the study of the Mexican experience in the U.S. Enter the university’s Mexican American Cultural Center, which was established to support research in what was then the new field of Chicano studies. In the 52 years since, that center — now known as the Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) — has grown from a small student- and faculty-led initiative to a full-blown academic center, supporting original research and publications, the maintenance of archival collections and a library.

Running the center for the last 19 years has been Chon Noriega, a professor in UCLA’s department of film, television and digital media, who has been a tireless advocate of Chicano representation. Key archives connected with figures such as Edward Roybal, who in 1949 became the first Latino elected to L.A.'s City Council since 1881 (and later a U.S. representative), as well as caches of historic documents and photographs related to publications such as the Spanish-language daily La Opinión and the 1960s-era activist newspaper La Raza (which generated an exhibition at the Autry Museum of the American West), are some of the acquisitions Noriega was instrumental in bringing to the research center.

He helped launch “A Ver,” an artist monograph series that has chronicled the work of important Latino artists such as Pepón Osorio, Judith F. Baca, Carmen Lomas Garza and Gronk (born Glugio Nicandro). He also helped curate key exhibitions related to Chicano and Latino art. Among them, the highly influential “Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement,” which he organized with Rita Gonzalez and Howard Fox in 2008, as well as “Home — So Different, So Appealing,” a group exhibition of international artists, executed with Mari Carmen Ramírez and Pilar Tompkins Rivas — both shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Now, after 19 years, Noriega is stepping down as director of the Chicano Studies Research Center (though he will remain on the faculty at UCLA)...

Full article/interview at https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-05-21/ucla-chon-noriega-chicano-studies-los-angeles-latinos.

UCLA in the News (in a bad way)

From MyNewsLA: An obstetrician-gynecologist formerly employed by UCLA was taken into custody Monday in a Los Angeles courtroom on a 21-count indictment accusing him of sexually assaulting patients. The indictment was handed down by a grand jury last Thursday and announced on the day a preliminary hearing for Dr. James Mason Heaps was scheduled to begin. Heaps, 64, of Woodland Hills, who had been free on bond, was taken into custody on bail of $1.19 million, according to attorneys who represent hundreds of victims in a civil case against Heaps and UCLA.

A pretrial hearing was scheduled for June 3, and the case was moved to a downtown courtroom, a spokeswoman for the courts confirmed. Heaps had been facing a total of 20 felony counts in a criminal complaint charging him with sexually assaulting seven patients between 2011 and 2018. The indictment now allows for a maximum sentence of more than 91 years, according to the attorneys handling civil cases against the doctor, although the District Attorney’s Office did not immediately confirm that calculation or the details of the grand jury’s findings...

In 2019, the UC Board of Regents paid $2.25 million to a woman who alleged that Heaps sexually assaulted her while he was practicing at UCLA and another $1.3 million to a UCLA nurse-practitioner who alleged sexual harassment and retaliation for her participation in UCLA internal investigations of Heaps. In January, a federal judge gave preliminary approval of a civil, class-action settlement in which the University of California system agreed to pay $73 million to more than 5,500 women who were patients of Heaps.

The agreement requires the judge’s final approval July 12, but at least 300 of Heaps’ alleged victims have opted out of the settlement, which also requires UCLA to ensure stronger oversight procedures for identification, prevention and reporting of sexual misconduct. The entirety of the $73 million would go toward compensating more than 5,500 women who received treatment from Heaps at either the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center from 1986-2018, the school’s student health center from 1983-2010 or Heaps’ university medical office from 2014-18...

Full story at https://mynewsla.com/crime/2021/05/24/ex-ucla-gynecologist-arrested-for-alleged-sex-assaults-on-campus-patients-surprise-indictment/.

The Regents Are Meeting This Thursday...

...but you aren't invited.

The Regents are meeting this week (May 27) behind closed doors. They are selecting a new student regent. The process is even more mysterious then the selection of a pope. No white smoke is released when the process is complete. And unlike the selection of a pope, when there is at least speculation as to the major candidates, the selection of a student regent is totally opaque.

You may recall that in the case of the most recent UC president selection, the Regents set up a series of open meetings at the various campuses during which input was invited. 

In any case, here is the notice:

There will be a teleconference meeting, conducted in accordance with Paragraph 3 of Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-29-20, of the Special Committee on the Selection of a Student Regent in Closed Session , on May 27, 2021, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Attendance is expected of Special Committee members only. 

Source: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/may21/student-regent.pdf.

Town Hall on UCLA Fall Procedures

A "town hall" meeting by Zoom and YouTube was held on May 21 concerning procedures for generally returning to in-person instruction and work at UCLA in the fall. Some of the key points are shown above. Note that although enrollments of 60 are mentioned as a dividing line between in-person and remote classes, there are procedures for exceptions in both directions. That is, classes with over 60 students can be held in person through an application procedure. And classes below 60 can be held remotely by exception. If a class is designated as in-person, there will not be a requirement for adding some kind of remote option.

All of these points are subject to LA County rules, but the current expectation is that those rules will remain relaxed.

You can see the town hall at the link below:

Or direct to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lV1649AJL4.

Alternative link: https://archive.org/details/dont-miss-your-shot-california-governors-want-you-to-get-the-covid-19-vaccine/UCLA+plans+for+fall+reopening+5-21-21.mp4.

3% Coming Soon (but less soon for faculty)

From an email circulated yesterday afternoon:

To:  Faculty and Staff   Dear Colleagues:   In recognition of everything that UCLA employees have done to keep our institution moving forward this past year, we are very pleased to announce that all eligible, policy-covered UCLA faculty and staff will receive a 3% increase to their base salaries.  This increase will be effective June 27 for staff paid bi-weekly and July 1 for staff paid monthly. For policy-covered faculty, the adjustment to the academic salary scales will be effective Oct. 1. [Italics added.]   We know our faculty and staff have faced daunting personal and professional challenges in the last 14 months, yet you have maintained a level of dedication to excellence that has kept our university at the forefront of education, research and service. We are grateful for this opportunity to acknowledge your contributions to UCLA, particularly as we were unable to provide the typical merit increases to staff last year. Guidelines and eligibility criteria for policy-covered staff are available on the Campus Human Resources website. Eligibility criteria for faculty will be shared in the near future. Please note that this increase does not apply to exclusively represented employees and academic personnel who are receiving separate increases in accordance with applicable collective bargaining agreements and/or meeting-and-conferring under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act.   Staff may reach out with any questions to Campus Human Resources Compensation Services at 310-794-0890 or UCLA Health Human Resources at 310-794-0500. Faculty may direct inquiries to the Academic Personnel Office.   After an exceptionally difficult year, we hope that this positive news serves to lift spirits and bolster our shared resolve as we work toward our broader return to campus this fall. Thank you for your continued commitment to UCLA and to one another.

Sincerely,   Gene D. Block Chancellor   Emily A. Carter Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost === Note: "Policy-covered" refers to individuals not covered by a collective bargaining agreement. As noted on this blog, a similar letter went out on Monday from the UC prez:  http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-3-letter.html.

Mellow Yellow

From an email circulated today:

COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force

L.A. County continues to see promising declines in COVID-19 cases and has advanced to the least restrictive yellow tier in the state's pandemic response plan. New permissible activities went into effect on May 14 through the issuance of an updated Health Officer Order (PDF).

Dear Bruin Community:

We are happy to announce that UCLA is adopting several of these new allowances and expanded activities, effective immediately. Below is a summary of some of these changes (this is not an all-inclusive list, so please refer to the L.A. County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) Protocols for Institutes of Higher Education for details (PDF):

Cleaning protocols have been updated to align with the less stringent CDC guidance, with a focus on thorough cleaning rather than extensive disinfection (NOTE: Spaces occupied by an individual with COVID-19 who is self-isolating remain subject to more stringent disinfection protocols).

Restaurants on campus can operate indoors at 50% capacity with up to six individuals from up to six households allowed to sit together at the same table if fully vaccinated, otherwise only up to three households can sit together. Outdoors, up to eight households can be seated together (as a party of eight) if all are fully vaccinated.

Visit Plateia and ASUCLA for the latest hours and updates. This guidance does not change current operations for our residential dining halls and please refer to the dining website  for the latest schedule and updates.

Gyms can operate indoors at 50% capacity. Hot tubs, saunas and steam rooms may reopen. Please refer to the UCLA Recreation facilities webpage for reopening dates, updated operations and hours for the John Wooden Center and Kinross Recreation Center.

In-person activities and events are still recommended to be virtual or outdoors as much as possible. In all cases, they must follow the relevant LACDPH Protocol (NOTE: These are updated capacity limits that supersede our campuswide message from May 5):

Appendix CC: Informal Social Gatherings (PDF) increases outdoor social gatherings to 100 max and indoor 50% capacity or 50 people max.

Appendix BB: Protocol for Private Events (PDF) increases outdoor private events to 200 max, and 400 max if all guests are tested or show proof of vaccination. Indoor private events are not permitted at this time, unless all guests show proof of vaccination or negative test and then the limit is up to 200.

Appendix Z: Outdoor Seated Live Events and Performances (PDF) increases seating to 67% capacity with “controlled mixing” of vaccinated and unvaccinated people, and in-state participants only with the exception of Graduation Ceremonies — see LACDPH Graduation FAQ (PDF).

Appendix Z1: Indoor Seated Live Events and Performances (PDF) increases venues less than or equal to occupancy of 1,500 to 25% capacity or 300 max, and for venues greater than 1,500 occupancy to 10% capacity or 2,000 max and in both instances, 50% max capacity if all guests are tested or show proof of vaccination.

As a reminder, per Cal OSHA regulations, these event allowances do not apply in instructional, research or workplace settings at this time.

While this expansion is positive news in light of dramatic improvements in local health conditions, please note that the L.A. County Health Officer Order (PDF) remains in effect, and despite the recent announcement from the CDC and President Biden about flexibilities with masking outdoors, UCLA must continue to follow the stricter guidance of LACDPH and Cal/OSHA for wearing face masks on UCLA property. Requirements are listed below:

Face masks are required for everyone outdoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained, including when attending outdoor events on the UCLA campus.

Individuals are not required to wear a face mask when on campus in their own personal living space, when alone in a closed office, or when eating or drinking in a designated dining area.

Cal/OSHA still requires employees, including student employees, to wear masks on UCLA property when in contact or likely to be in contact with others.

Thank you for continuing to follow these public health guidelines and for doing your part to keep yourselves and our communities healthy.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Beck Administrative Vice Chancellor Co-chair, COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force

Michael Meranze Immediate Past Chair, UCLA Academic Senate Professor of History Co-chair, COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force

Whatever you call it, it's good news:

Or direct to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64mb_hUOb4g.