Dear Infrastructure and Sustainability team,
I hope this first week of March finds you well. It is incredible to think that we are halfway through the spring semester already.
In recent weeks, we have seen a rapid decline in COVID-19 transmission on our campus, in Boulder County and across the state, as well as a significant decrease in COVID-19-related hospitalizations. As such, the CU Boulder campus will become mask-optional at 6 a.m. on Monday, March 7. Until then, masks continue to be required in all public indoor spaces, classrooms and laboratories.
At the same time, we recognize that some of our students, faculty and staff have different comfort levels in public spaces and that some members of our community have personal circumstances that may necessitate continued masking. While wearing masks will soon be optional on campus, we encourage those who prefer to do so to continue wearing them, and we support their decision.
In other news, last month, the Board of Regents approved CU Boulder’s 2021 Campus Master Plan (CMP), which lays out a vision for the campus physical environment that best supports the university’s core mission of education and research. Just last week, we also released the supporting Energy Master Plan (EMP). Thank you to the many individuals who helped get both of these plans across the finish line, in particular Amy Kirtland and AVC Chris Ewing for their work on the CMP and Lindsey Schumacher and AVC Brian Lindoerfer for their work on the EMP.
I also want to thank Kelsey Draper for leading the discussion around DEI, and to our teammates: Alex Acosta, Claudia Acosta Lopez, Wayne Northcutt, Barry Sparks, Carolina Pire and Tim Lockhart for sharing their wonderful and inspiring stories. We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive community that celebrates our differences with the knowledge that every single one of you brings a unique perspective and experience that will make us better, both in I&S and on the campus as a whole. We look forward to continuing to build a sense of belonging by hosting and participating in more events such as the "Seat at the Table" series with Professor Donna Mejia.
Finally, the Kazoo program is a great tool to acknowledge your colleagues for their contribution to our team and to our campus. It’s a quick and easy way to recognize each other and as a reminder, your “points to send” balance is available through the end of the month, and then it will reset for the next quarter, so don’t forget to send recognition by March 31.
Stay healthy, stay safe, stay warm and take good care of yourself and each other.
With gratitude,
David Kang, vice chancellor for infrastructure and sustainability
