Latest Developments
Updated: January 13, 2021
- Boulder County is now at Level Orange: High Risk.
- The first four weeks of the spring semester 2021 will occur in a remote-only format. Courses designated as in-person or hybrid in-person for the spring semester will begin their in-person format on Monday, Feb. 15. Courses designated as remote or online will continue in those formats for the entire semester.
- Move-in for incoming and returning residence hall students begins by appointment on Feb 7. Students who will be living on campus will receive more information about move-in soon from Residence Life.
- Additionally, we ask everyone with the flexibility to remain in your permanent-home communities to delay your travel to Boulder until our return to in-person courses.
- The traditional weeklong spring break is cancelled; instead, the semester is starting three days later than previously scheduled and students will have two days off on Feb. 17 and March 25.
- New testing expectation: All faculty, staff and students with a need to be on campus during the spring semester will need to participate in the campus monitoring surveillance program once a week.
- CU Boulder has introduced a live chat on the university's COVID-19 page, and you can refer inquiries there, call the central hotline at 303-492-8478 or submit question via the Ask a Question form on the COVID-19 page.
- Students who feel like they have symptoms of COVID-19 should go immediately to Wardenburg Health Center. If they think they have been exposed but don’t have symptoms, they should go to one of the six surveillance testing sites on campus. Faculty/staff should use their own doctors unless they are instructed otherwise by a contact tracer who contacts them. For additional guidance on COVID-19 testing, symptoms and surveillance, click here.
- CU Boulder has launched a public COVID-19-ready dashboard on the COVID-19 information webpage, which includes the state of Colorado status, Boulder County COVID-19 statistics and our current campus mode of operation. It will provide both a daily and a five-day moving average of positive CU Boulder cases that have been tested via our campus Medical Services testing operations.
- All students, faculty, staff, researchers are required to complete a Daily Health Questionnaire and Illness Reporting Form each day before they come to campus.
- CU Boulder announced the Protect Our Herd public health awareness campaign, reminding our community of the basic daily actions we all must take to protect ourselves and others.
- Buildings on campus will continue to require Buff OneCard for access. Students, faculty and staff will have access only to the buildings for which they normally have department or academic approval for access.
Get CU Boulder COVID-19 Updates
Current Students Resources
Support for current undergraduate and graduate students during the coronavirus pandemic.
Alumni and Community Members Resources
Opportunities for our greater Leeds community to get involved and help current students and new graduates navigate challenges presented by COVID-19.
COVID-19 Webinar Series
Announcing a new, seventh series of COVID-19 webinars from February 1-19, featuring relevant, informative commentary from a variety of world-renowned faculty and alumni from disciplines across CU Boulder. Each presentation will provide frank and timely insights for life during and after the pandemic from their specific lens. Stay tuned for details and explore previous webinars below.
SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): Just one in a series of viruses jumping from animals to humans
Monday, February 1, 2021 | 12pm MT
Presenters: Dr. Sara Sawyer
A Professor in the BioFrontiers Institute at CU Boulder.
Characterization and Control of Bioaerosols in the Built Environment in the Age of COVID
Tuesday, February 2, 2021 | 12pm MT
Presenter: Dr. Mark Hernandez
Dr. Mark Hernandez attained all his degrees from University of California at Berkeley and is beginning his 25th year on the CU faculty. A registered professional civil engineer and an expert on the characterization of bioaerosols – both indoors and out.
Creating a Dynamic LinkedIn Profile that Encourages Engagement in the Midst of COVID-19
Wednesday, February 10, 2021 | 12pm MT
Presenter: Debra Jason
A professional marketing speaker, author, direct response copywriter and multi-faceted marketing mentor. Author of the award-winning book Millionaire Marketing on a Shoestring Budget™: How to attract a steady stream of happy clients, make more money and live your dream.
The Epidemiology of COVID-19: One Year Later
Friday, February 12, 2021 | 12pm MT
Presenter: Dr. Matthew McQueen
An Epidemiologist and Professor of Integrative Physiology and Director for the Public Health Certificate Program on the CU Boulder campus. Dr. McQueen is engaged in a highly interdisciplinary research program and is the Director of Epidemiology for the CU Boulder Pandemic Response Office. He teaches Introduction to Epidemiology for the public health certificate program as well as introductory and advanced biostatistics for the Department of Integrative Physiology.
Managing a High Growth, Better-For-You Snack Company During COVID
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 | 12pm MT
Presenter: Jane Miller
CEO of Lily’s, is a long-time food industry executive with experience from Fortune 100 companies (PepsiCo, Heinz) to natural industry icons (Rudi’s Organic Bakery) to start-ups. Founder of a career advice website, janeknows.com, and the author of a sassy business book, Sleep Your Way to the Top (and other myths about business success). She is on the board of CU’s Leeds Business School and Watson Institute.
COVID-19 Hot Topics for Employers in 2021
Friday, February 19, 2021 | 12pm MT
Presenter: Jessica Brown and Barbara Grandjean
Jessica Brown is a partner in the Denver office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment and White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Groups. President of the Colorado Bar Association.
Barbara represents employers and employees inside and outside the courtroom. She consults proactively with employers regarding workplace issues, such as hiring, discipline and terminations, harassment, discrimination and retaliation, privacy and social media, medical and non-medical leave, reductions in force, executive employment, wage and hour matters, drug testing and cannabis, and employment handbooks, policies and training.
Pandemic Response Office
CU Boulder has created a the Pandemic Respons Office to leads public health efforts. The office works to coordinate and lead the campus-wide approach to COVID-19, transition the COVID-19 approach from emergency response to ongoing operations, identify processes for an effective implementation of initiatives among multiple offices with various priorities and serve as a subject matter expert for public health communication and guidance. Learn more.
Help One Another and Protect Our Herd
This is an extraordinary time in history, one that is stressful and unsettling for many of us at CU Boulder. Rest assured, the health and safety of all of our community members is our top priority. When we protect our herd, we can stay together on campus. What can you do to keep yourself and others safe and healthy? Find out here.
Buffs Together
Buffs Together seeks to rally our campus community together to assist fellow Buffs and others during the COVID-19 pandemic. The university is committed to helping students, staff and faculty navigate the financial hardships caused by the pandemic by matching up to $1.6M of gifts to the Student Emergency Fund and the Staff and Faculty Emergency Fund.
The initiative also connects Buffs to volunteer opportunities related to supporting those impacted by the pandemic and aims to gather and share stories of good deeds being done during these challenging times by research faculty, students and staff.
Helping Entrepreneurs Through COVID-19
The Deming Center for Entrepreneurship is helping entrepreneurs and small businesses during this crisis by providing connections to mentors, insights from our faculty, and eventually through student support on projects. Learn more.
Who to Contact
COVID return to work hotline for common questions regarding testing, services and illness prevention related to the common cold, the flu and COVID-19.
Email: healthinfo@colorado.edu or Phone: M–F, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at 303-492-5101, select option 9.
Technology issues or concerns: call the Office of Information Technology at 303-735-4357 (5-HELP).
Student health questions: contact your health care provider or Medical Services at 303-492-5101 (24/7 nurse line available) for advice and recommendations.
Student mental health questions or concerns: Call Counseling and Psychiatric Services at 303-492-2277 (24/7 support available).
Faculty and Staff Assistance Program: Call 303-492-3020.
For families: New Student & Family Programs will be happy to assist you. Call or text 303-492-4431 or email families@colorado.edu.
Employment and payroll questions: Call Human Resources at 303-492-6475.
After reviewing the sections above and still have additional questions about how COVID-19 affects your studies or work with CU Boulder you can use the Ask a Question form.
Additional Resources
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website provides additional information about health guidelines, national statistics, travel recommendations and more.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (DPHE) website has information specific to Colorado, including cases, guidelines, statewide orders and more. They also have resources to help identify local COVID-19 testing sites nearby.
Faces of Leeds – COVID Edition
Uplifting stories of Leeds Buffs helping others during the pandemic.
Alexis-Brooke “A-B” LoBianco (Mgmt’21)
When COVID-19 impacted the campus community, A-B leveraged her student government experience to work directly with Dean Sharon Matusik as the head of her student task force, the COVID Cabinet. Learn about A-B and other Leeds undergraduates.
Sangati Shah (Mgmt'23)
Graphic Design Artist for CU Boulder Housing and Dining Services
When the FGX trips were canceled due to COVID-19, Sangati coordinated a virtual cooking class with Learn from a Chef, so everyone could get a taste of cuisines from the countries in which they were planning to travel. Read about Sangati and other Leeds undergraduates.
Beth Schwartz
Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the Leeds School of Business
When the campus went remote as a result of COVID-19, Beth was inspired to use her passion for fitness to lead weekly virtual workouts for Leeds faculty and staff. Read more about Beth and other faculty and staff.
Casey Bergeron (HRMgmt ’17)
Clinical Programs Manager at DaVita
Dialysis patients are some of the greatest at risk of COVID-19. Casey Bergeron and her team at DaVita Kidney Care have been working tirelessly to make sure these specific patients get the care they need during the pandemic. Learn more about Casey and other alumni.
Daniel Knowles (Fin & Info Mgmt’22)
When sophomore Daniel Knowles and two of his friends began to notice the effect of COVID-19 on the local businesses of their hometown of Boulder, they started brainstorming ways to help their community and founded GyftCO. GyftCO connects struggling Boulder businesses to the greater community by providing an outlet for them to sell discounted e-gift cards to customers. Read more aboiut Daniel and other Leeds undergraduates.
Andrea Straccia
Director of Leeds First-Year Experience
When CU Boulder announced the creation of First Year Academic Experiences for incoming students in fall, Andrea’s team expanded Leeds’ Residential Academic program and onboarding to support the success of Leeds’ entire class of 2024.
Ryan McMunn (Mktg and Mgmt’02)
CEO of Tricam Industries, CEO and founder of BRIC Language Systems, and founder of Leroy Street Capital
After Ryan and his wife experienced and recovered from COVID-19, they wanted to help others. They sourced hundreds of masks and donated them to UCHealth Boulder, the Anschutz Medical Campus, and to teams at their own businesses. Read more about Ryan and other alumni.
Tracy Jennings, PhD, MBA
Senior Instructor and Teaching Professor
When Leeds faculty needed to transition their classes online and reduce the spread of the virus on campus, Tracy quickly stepped in to support her colleagues by offering remote teaching trainings, creating an online content resource hub and more. Read about Tracy and other faculty and staff.