CORONAVIRUS
- UC Davis LIVE: COVID-19 in the built environment
- Activities and Recreation Center closes again
- Vacation accural caps lifted temporarily
Can the way we design and use buildings affect the transmission of COVID-19? Will the pandemic affect how we think about indoor spaces where we live and work?
Researchers who study the microbes that live in buildings and how they can affect our health will address these questions and more on the next edition of UC Davis LIVE: COVID-19, scheduled for 11 a.m. this Thursday (July 16).
The guests:
- David Coil, project scientist working with Professor Jonathan Eisen at the Genome Center — Coil manages research collaborations and supervises undergraduate research in microbiology, microbial ecology and genomics. He performs public outreach in microbiology through the microBEnet project, focused on communication of studies of microbiology of the built environment ranging from office buildings to the International Space Station.
- Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, associate professor, University of Oregon; director, Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory, Eugene and Portland, Oregon; and co-director, Biology and the Built Environment Center — He teaches classes in daylighting, integrated design principles, energy performance in buildings and design, and has consulted on several hundred new construction and major renovation projects with architects and engineers regarding daylight, energy in buildings and indoor environmental quality since 2000.
The conversation, hosted by Soterios Johnson, will be livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Questions can be submitted via Facebook either in advance or during the show.
Deans Discuss Podcast: "A Research Hub That’s Aggie Square Shaped" (Episode 6)
ARC is closed again
The Activities and Recreation Center shut down again Monday (July 13) after Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled back the state’s reopening.
In a Facebook post, the ARC stated: “We appreciate your patience as we respond to local guidelines surrounding business closures and we hope to see you back at the ARC soon. Until then, please take advantage of our free at-home workout series on Facebook Live and our workout tips on our Instagram channel. #KeepCalmAndAggieOn #UCDavisCampusRec”
The post added: “At this time, the lap pool is still open for lap swimming by reservation.”
Vacation caps lifted temporarily
Policy-covered staff are being allowed to exceed accrual caps on vacation hours, through the end of the year, in consideration of the pandemic’s interference with employees’ vacation plans (say, because of increased workload or restrictions on travel).
President Janet Napolitano approved the temporary exemption June 29 and made it retroactive to June 1. It applies to policy-covered staff at locations other than Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It does not apply to represented employees.
With the extension, eligible employees will have the flexibility to delay vacation time without hitting the accrual cap.
The extension will be applied automatically through UCPath. If you are eligible, you will continue accruing vacation leave through Dec. 31, 2020, even if you are over your maximum accrual. On Jan. 1, 2021, policy-covered staff who are over their maximum accrued vacation leave will no longer accrue additional leave until they bring their vacation balance below the maximum.