From the COO - Thank you for your extraordinary efforts

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

On behalf of a grateful campus family: Thank you. These are extraordinary times. You have made extraordinary efforts to keep our community safe and healthy. 

As the Chancellor recently noted, “we couldn’t have a better campus team handling the pandemic.” I’m more convinced of that every day. I have been inspired by your work and commitment. As the campus has transitioned to remote learning and many employees have been performing their work from home, it’s important to recognize that our employees are the backbone of the university and it could not continue to operate without your dedication and daily effort. From facilities to public safety to operations, human resources, compliance, financial tracking and IT, what you’ve done has enabled CU to continue classes, made sure that students have shelter and food, kept our facilities safe and secure, and helped us communicate important information to thousands of people in the CU community. Sometimes your work may not be immediately noticed, but all of you are making a difference, supporting our community, and even saving lives along the way. 

I am grateful to all of you for carrying out these vital responsibilities. There is no one I’d rather have on the front lines of our community effort.

But I must ask something extremely important of you to protect the health and safety of our community. Please work from home and do not come to campus unless you are performing critical duties and your supervisor has approved that it is necessary for you to perform them on campus. There are many functions that we can and should perform remotely, and, for those employees whose work requires you to be on campus, please stay only as long as is necessary. 

I also know that this period has placed stress upon many of you. Not only are you working long hours to make sure that CU continues to fulfill its mission, but many of you are caring for family members and have children who are not attending their schools. You need to take care of yourselves, make sure that you are getting enough rest, and safeguard your own health. Please make sure that you are keeping your supervisors informed about any challenges you are facing. We need to provide care and support to each other as we make our way through the upcoming weeks. You can also always contact the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP), which is currently providing telehealth support. 

We’ve made it through the first set of challenges together. We’ll have more to overcome. But I’m proud of you and our entire community. You’ve been intelligent, creative and engaged, and those traits will lead us successfully into the future.

And if you haven’t already, please refer to www.colorado.edu/coronavirus for the latest campus information and updates.

I look forward to seeing you as soon as we can get together. 

With optimism and sincere gratitude,

Patrick O’Rourke, Interim COO