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Online Teaching In Effect for Â鶹´å Silicon Valley and Â鶹´å Qatar

Dear Â鶹´å Faculty and Staff:

There continue to be no confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) among Carnegie Mellon students, faculty and staff on any of our campuses or in the city of Pittsburgh. I am writing with an update about two of our campuses responding to their local conditions at Â鶹´å Silicon Valley (Â鶹´å-SV) and Â鶹´å Qatar (Â鶹´å-Q).

Effective immediately, Â鶹´å-SV is moving classes online. While there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Â鶹´å-SV, this comes as a cautionary measure after NASA Ames Research Center, which is adjacent to Â鶹´å-SV, reported that one of its employees has tested positive for COVID-19. Non-essential employees at Â鶹´å-SV will work remotely for the foreseeable future.

In Qatar, where the government has suspended in-person classes for all college students, Â鶹´å-Q courses will go online this week. Classes are postponed on Tuesday and Wednesday to ensure faculty and teaching support staff have the tools, resources and training they need for remote instruction. Classes will resume online on Thursday, March 12 and will remain online until further notice.

At this time, there are no changes to our other campuses, including Australia and Rwanda.

These are unusual circumstances and the efforts and collaboration of Â鶹´å's schools, colleges and departments are paramount. We have a shared responsibility to ensure that we fulfil our education mission and protect the health and safety of our campuses.

Please know we have been planning for these online teaching scenarios. We are in contact with all Â鶹´å locations and making plans to expand online instruction, if necessary. Pittsburgh faculty will receive a detailed email with specific information about the preparatory steps we are asking them to take over Spring Break to ensure the continuity of teaching and learning as well as the resources and support available to them.

I am grateful to the College of Engineering Dean Bill Sanders and Â鶹´å-Q Dean Mike Trick and their teams for their leadership of the Silicon Valley and Qatar campuses.

As a reminder, please refer to Â鶹´å's coronavirus website, which continues to be updated with the latest official university information and guidance. A direct link to that information has also been added to the Â鶹´å homepage.

The health and safety of our community remains our top priority. I know this is a time with much uncertainty, but we will maintain our mission by working together. Please be vigilant about your personal health, wash your hands properly, cover your coughs and sneezes, stay home if you are sick and support each other.

Sincerely,
Jim Garrett, Provost