COVID-19 Communications

Happy New Year! We look forward to your return next week as well as the return of our students in less than two weeks. Spring 2021 will look very much like fall 2020. We continue to improve our COVID-19 protocols and precautions, which keep our colleagues and campus as healthy and safe as possible. Please join us by recommitting to Protect the Purple as we start a new academic semester and a new year.

We once again extend our deepest thanks to you for your role in keeping our campus, our colleagues and our students as healthy as possible during the fall 2020 semester. Arriving to this point was no accident; a focus on health and safety practices and our substantial planning to Protect the Purple allowed us to deliver on the Texas Christian University Connected Campus experience.

There’s a lot of discussion/concern about the mental health of students during these times. Rightfully so. National studies warn about increases in psychological symptoms, substance use and suicide rates among young adults, and the TCU Counseling Center is seeing an unprecedented increase in demand for services. As such, I write this open letter to ask for help.

Many questions are related to employees’ obligations to care for family members, an employee’s own health condition or risk factors that may affect reengagement or return to campus. To answer some of your questions, we have information regarding FMLA – Family and Medical Leave Act as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADA) to determine if any of the following reasons are applicable to your situation.

These past few weeks have been challenging for our country, and for our community. Not only are we thoughtfully preparing the campus for the return of our students, faculty and staff, we are addressing the gamut of emotions resulting from the tragic death of George Floyd. We want to acknowledge the emotional toll this has taken on our community, and especially our black colleagues as they experience ongoing racism. Please listen to one another, offer support in the form of your presence and your compassion. Stand resolute against racism in all its forms – let’s be better together.