The following message has been sent to the campus community by CSU Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Jianping Zhu.

"As we look ahead to the expiration of Governor DeWine’s stay at home order later this month, we have continued an extensive and detailed planning process on how we will conduct a phased repopulation of our campus. Foremost in this effort is the safety and health of the entire CSU community.
The initial phase of repopulation will focus on giving our approximately 20 research scientists, their post-docs and graduate students the opportunity to return to their labs, beginning on May 30.

At my request, a multidisciplinary workgroup of researchers, led by Dr. Valentin Boerner, developed a detailed reopening plan for the research labs that meets all CDC and state guidelines and minimizes risk as much as possible. That plan was reviewed by our Pandemic Response Team and then integrated into the larger campus repopulation plan being developed, so that services required to support the labs are also in place.

Elements of the plan include the following:

• No undergraduates will be in the labs
• All personnel will wear face masks
• Social distancing will be maintained at all times
• Frequent handwashing and surface cleaning will be done throughout the day
• Spot checks will be conducted to ensure compliance with safety measures
• In addition, to further support our researchers in these extraordinary times, we are working with our legislative team, elected officials and grant funders to explore avenues to help ensure grant continuation and renewal, as well as other options to compensate for lost resources from the pandemic and ensure continuity and completion of current research projects.

As Cleveland’s only urban public research university, CSU’s commitment to research is central to our role as an anchor and beacon institution for Northeast Ohio. This initial reopening of our research labs, in a carefully planned manner and with safety and health foremost, sets us on a path to continue that commitment."

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