[bioundgrd] comments, updates, links

[Alan D Grossman]

Dear Members of the Biology Community,

I hope that everyone is safe and well in this uncertain time. Because we receive frequent communications from so many sources, I have hesitated to offer regular email updates. However, as we return to classes this week and seem to be settling in for the remainder of the semester, I’m writing to provide some (probably too many) comments, updates, reminders, and links to resources. Almost all information pertaining to the MIT community and Covid-19 can be found at MIT’s Covid-19 Info Center https://covid19.mit.edu/

First and foremost
•Many thanks to everyone for your dedication and efforts during these last few chaotic weeks and very trying times.  Collectively, we are all balancing moving (home or away from home, and certainly away from MIT), online learning, remote teaching and working, shifting almost all research activities away from on-campus and to our homes, childcare, concern for ourselves and others, and all the activities of life that have now become more difficult and challenging.

We are getting through this and will continue to get through this, together as a broad community, as a collection of smaller communities, and as individuals.  We will continue to support and learn from each other.

•There are many in the broader MIT community, in leadership and behind-the-scenes support roles, who have been working tirelessly to make all the changes and ongoing adjustments to the rapidly evolving pandemic. We might not always understand or agree with some of the decisions, but there is no doubt that tremendous thought and effort is going into all the changes. The leadership and support groups are serving us well and we grateful for their efforts and sacrifices.

•I’m particularly proud of all in our department who responded to MIT’s calls for PPE distribution to local hospitals.  These efforts are tremendously needed and appreciated by many.

Faculty-related news
•As many are aware, the three searches for new faculty members have largely been completed.  We are moving forward with offers to Humsa Venkatesh (KI) and Lindsay Case (Building 68).  The joint search with the Ragon Institute has not yet made a decision.  We are in the process of recruiting at least two talented scientists to our faculty.

•Good news for non-tenured faculty:  All non-tenured faculty will automatically be granted a one-year tenure clock extension as a result of the disruption associated with COVID-19. Non-tenured faculty members have received more detailed information about this extension.  See more information here<https://covid19.mit.edu/tenure-policy-adjustment>

Campus Access
The campus Limited Access Plan for designated personnel to conduct periodic lab checks, approved research, and safe operation of the campus is in place. The bar for MIT building access is extremely high.  See Instructions for requesting one-time access here.<https://covid19.mit.edu/MIT-Cambridge-campus-Limited-Access-Plan-begins-March-25>

Please address questions re: Building 68 access to Rebecca Chamberlain, and re Koch Institute access to Terry Clewley. There should already be an increased presence of MIT Police, and they may be checking for MIT ID’s, so be sure to carry yours, preferably visibly, when on campus.

Please note that the plan that is in place now could become more restrictive depending on the progression of the pandemic.  Please do as much as possible away from the MIT campus and only come to campus if absolutely needed.

Teaching and community information
•As the semester resumes, those who are teaching are facing new challenges and new modes of interacting with students. A curated source of information about teaching may be found here.<https://covid19.mit.edu/advice-including-on-how%20to-reach-out-to-your-students-as-we-begin-remote-teaching>  We are fortunate to have the BioX team, under the leadership of Mary Ellen Wiltrout.  Mary Ellen is a tremendous resource and can provide guidance and suggestions if the available information is not sufficient.

•For those faculty and instructors currently teaching, please do as much from home as possible.  If that is problematic, there are several small, private, secure offices in building E17 that can be reserved.  These spaces are available only to faculty and instructors who are teaching and who need quiet, private locations to prepare or deliver remote education. These offices will receive enhanced cleaning in keeping with Covid-19 guidelines.

Our own offices in the department should NOT be used. MIT is trying to steer foot traffic to specific locations to reduce the need for cleaning and support staff to service multiple locations.  For more information about these offices, please see:  “what, how, and where” manual here<http://inj9.mjt.lu/lnk/ANAAAGuqOB8AAcqojrAAAAA87YQAAYCpv8oAIviPAAiQzwBefkHuvdLU5BJwTUq-wtoa2FtS-gAIIWc/1/YR7oH7Wk9xhfm6x3LoHCHw/aHR0cHM6Ly9jb3ZpZDE5Lm1pdC5lZHUvc2l0ZXMvZGVmYXVsdC9maWxlcy9GYWN1bHR5UmVtb3RlRWRSZXNvdXJjZS1SZXNlcnZhYmxlUHJpdmF0ZU9mZmljZS1Ib3dUby5wZGY>.

Bottom line:  if you can teach from home, please do so!

•Comments, suggestions related to teaching and community:

-many students are feeling isolated: Faculty, please check in with your advisees.  Also, please check in with the graduate students in your lab.

-For small to medium-sized courses, consider checking in with students who do not attend synchronous (live-streaming) classes. See if those students are doing okay.

-Expect everything related to teaching to take longer!  Modify expectations of amount of material to cover accordingly.

-It is fine to move away from formal exams.  Try to find other ways to gauge learning.

Zoom-bombing
Concerns have been raised about abusing features on the Zoom platform to disrupt online sessions (Zoom bombing).  You are encouraged to require participants to authenticate using MIT Touchstone.  Note that hosts must choose these settings on a per meeting (or per account) basis.  If you have meetings that include people who are not affiliated with MIT, best is to require a password.  Please see more information here<https://covid19.mit.edu/securing-zoom-meetings-and-classes-to-prevent-disruption>

New hires and appointments (non-faculty)
Income from the MIT endowment (and most investments) is likely to decline in the near term. MIT will be implementing some new policies to deal with the decline in operating income. The first major change:  new and replacement hires for all non-faculty positions at MIT must be approved by the Provost’s Office before recruiting and hiring processes may proceed, regardless of the funding source. Approval is contingent upon awards where the funds have been received by MIT and are sufficient for at least one year of salary and benefits.

Our understanding is that appointments of postdoctoral researchers with full support from an external source will be allowed to proceed. Appointments that are fully or partially supported by internal (department or PI) funds, MUST be approved by MIT.  PLEASE ALLOW EXTRA TIME FOR THIS APPROVAL PROCESS; we do not know how long it will take, nor do we know how long it will be in effect.  Please address questions regarding Building 68 appointments to Helene Kelsey and KI appointments to Terry Clewley.

Information about Covid-19 and additional resources
•There is a plethora of information available from many sources about the disease Covid-19 and SARS CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19).  One that I came across this morning was presented by Michael Lin, MD, PhD and a faculty member at Stanford.  This is dense and filled with a lot of useful and interesting information.  Please have a look if you are so inclined.
 https://www.csail.mit.edu/news/hot-topics-computing-coronaviruses-and-covid-19-basic-biology-behind-epidemic

•Thanks to Monty Krieger for providing this link https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00933-5 to a recent article in Nature with tips to manage mental health and well-being during this pandemic.

Lastly
I want to implore everyone to find and focus on the positives that result from our current situation. There are many, but what is most striking to me is the outpouring of good will, compassion, community support, and selflessness that has become apparent in Biology and the whole of MIT.  These attributes were always there, but they now stand out vividly and highlight some of the strengths of our community.

Thank you again to all who make it an honor for me to serve our department.

Please stay well!

Warm regards,
Alan


ps.  Congratulations(?) if you made it to the end of this message!

Alan D. Grossman
Professor and Head
Department of Biology
Building 68-530
M.I.T.
Cambridge, MA   02139

(617) 253-1515
adg at mit.edu<mailto:adg at mit.edu>





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