UCI Forward

UCI Forward is our commitment to the well-being of our community as we ramp up campus operations. Working together, each of us doing our part, we can move UCI Forward.

Sept. 13 - UCI ranked top-10 public university, don’t forget to vote!

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Reflection along E. Peltason toward the Anteater Instruction and Research building. Photo by Ian Parker

Reflection along E. Peltason toward the Anteater Instruction and Research building. Photo by Ian Parker

Q&A Ask the Expert header

Each day, a UCI expert will answer one of your questions about COVID-19, vaccinations, variants or the future of work. Submit questions via email.

For today’s Ask the Expert, we are recapping the Campus Dialogues Town Hall, during which leadership addressed staff’s most-asked questions about COVID-19 prevention, safety and wellness measures for the return to campus this fall quarter. For more information about campus public health issues, please go to UCI Forward, where a link to a recording of the webinar will be available soon.

  • The COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective against serious illness and hospitalization. Yet we must remain cautious, as waning immunity could reduce vaccine efficacy. Hence, the possible need for booster shots.

  • The delta variant is more than twice as contagious as previous variants. So we should think of this current phase of the pandemic as a transitional period: We can’t go back to normal yet. Vaccination and vigilance are the keys. We cannot reach herd immunity until children are vaccinated.

  • UCI is mandating vaccination for all students, faculty and staff. Masking is required on campus for indoor settings regardless of vaccination status.

  • Daily symptom checks will still be required of all students, staff and faculty regardless of vaccination status, and those not fully vaccinated will need weekly asymptomatic testing if they are returning to campus. If you feel you are COVID-19 positive, report the case by calling the COVID Response Center at 949-824-9918.

  • Most of the UCI community has uploaded their vaccination information: 88.6% of students, 91.5% of employees, and 95.4% of students living on-campus are fully vaccinated. It’s not too late to get the vaccine and upload your vaccination information. Students can upload here. Employees can upload here.

  • UCI’s Student Health Center provides telehealth services for students who may feel they are COVID-19 positive to limit infection spread. Drive-through testing and self-sample collection services are also available to students.

  • Go to the UCI Human Resources Wellness site for more information about wellness resources, including Bright Horizons offers family support and back-up care services (co-pay fees are waived until Oct. 31), the Employee Assistance Program and medical coverage for mental health services and substance abuse treatment.

Don’t miss the final two town halls in the Campus Dialogues series:

And check out recordings of the previous two town halls:

CAMPUS UPDATES

UCI ranked among nation’s top 10 public universities for seventh year in a row

U.S. News & World Report ranked UCI as the ninth best public university in the nation, making this the seventh consecutive year that UCI has been in the top 10. UCI ranked 36th overall, and ranked second in the subcategory of social mobility, which is partly measured by graduation rates of students who receive Pell Grants.

Tomorrow is the last day to vote in the gubernatorial recall election

If you vote by mail, your ballot must be postmarked on or before Sept. 14. You can also vote in person at a voting center, or drop your ballot off at a secure ballot drop box. On campus, you can vote at the UCI Anteater Community Resource Center, or you can drop your completed ballot off at UCI’s Orange County Registrar of Voters Official Ballot Drop Box located on the corner of Campus Drive and West Peltason Drive near the bike repair shop. More information is available at the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS

Air trapped in Antarctic ice reveals 70% increase in atmospheric hydrogen since 1850s

UCI researchers analyzed samples of air extracted from compacted layers of Antarctic ice and snow to calculate levels of atmospheric hydrogen, which is partly a byproduct of burning fossil fuels and biomass, among other sources. These hydrogen emissions impact the global climate and the ozone layer. Most of the recent increase is attributable to human activities, especially emissions from transportation, UCI scientists said.

UCI wins award to foster career development for humanities scholars

The Council of Graduate Schools has given $48,000 to UCI to help fund professional skills training for Ph.D. students from the School of Humanities. With the funding, the UCI Humanities Center will hold an intensive summer institute in 2022 and 2023 to develop Ph.D. students’ skills in grant-writing, research development and project development.

UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS

Younger unvaccinated Californians increasingly hospitalized with COVID-19

The age of people hospitalized with the COVID-19 has dropped significantly in some parts of California compared to earlier surges because younger people are being vaccinated at lower rates, the Los Angeles Times reports.

EVENTS

Origins of the COVID mRNA Vaccine: Messenger RNA: The 30 Years which Prepared the 3rd Medical Revolution
Wednesday, 1 p.m. (sponsored by UCI School of Medicine)

Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.

UCI IN THE NEWS

UCI study looks to improve jail inmate outcomes upon release

Spectrum News 1, Sept. 10
Cited: Elizabeth Cauffman, professor of psychological science

9/11 Then & Now

KCUR, Sept. 13
Guest: Roxane Cohen Silver, Distinguished Professor of psychological science, medicine, and public health

‘Flooding Can Happen Anywhere’: Here’s How to Stay Safe

Verywell Health, Sept. 9
Guest: Brett Sanders, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and urban planning and public policy

COVID-19 NOTIFICATION AND RESOURCES

New campus cases

Two on-campus employees tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.

Remember to upload your vaccine record

Vaccination is a critical step toward our campus's fall return. Help our community by uploading your vaccine record.

Student Record Upload

Employee Record Upload

Potential workplace exposure

UCI provides this notification of a potential workplace COVID-19 exposure. Employees and subcontractors who were in these locations on the dates listed may have been exposed to the coronavirus. You may be entitled to various benefits under applicable federal and state laws and University-specific policies and agreements. The full notification is available on the UCI Forward site. If you have been identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 case, the UCI Contact Tracing Program will contact you and provide additional direction.

For COVID-19 questions

UCI Forward - information on campus status and operational updates

UCI Health COVID-19 Updates - important information related to UCI Health

UCI Health COVID-19 FAQs

UCI Coronavirus Response Center - available at covid19@uci.edu or via phone at (949) 824-9918

Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services - assistance with vaccines and vaccine uploads; available at contacttracing@uci.edu or via phone at (949) 824-2300

Program in Public Health chatline - answers to questions about COVID-19

For questions specific to your personal health situation, please contact your doctor or healthcare provider.