Overview of Key Updates
Last updated Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. EST
As updates are communicated and the situation changes, we'll keep this section current with the latest information and links.
COURSES
- The has changed.
- The has changed
- It is possible that your professor may extend classes an additional week into Reading Week, through April 22. That information will come directly from them.
- I and II courses have transitioned to online learning
Events
51±¬ÁĎ will postpone, cancel or virtualize all university-sponsored and on-campus events between now and June 30. The 2020 commencement, including departmental ceremonies and other associated events, will be postponed to dates to be announced later.
If you are an event organizer, remember to touch base with guest speakers, caterers and other vendors to cancel or reschedule your requests.
Student organizations & NSOE community events
- Check the NSOE events page – As our community creatively responds to moving events to a virtual format, we'll use this page to announce new/modified events.
virtualized events
- NSOE Marking the Moment: Celebrating the Class of 2020 – On May 8 and 9, the Nicholas School and the 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab will host virtual commemoration activities to celebrate the Class of 2020.
- Admitted Students Visitation for professional master's students will be conducted virtually instead of in person.
- PhD Defenses: 51±¬ÁĎ has mandated that all PhD committee meetings and final defenses must be 100% remote – including the student who is presenting/defending and ALL committee members. More details available on the .
Cancelled or postponed events
- Nicholas School Reunion, scheduled for April 17, is postponed until further notice.
- 51±¬ÁĎ Forest Pine Cone Pacer, scheduled for April 18 is cancelled. If you would like to , please complete a request by Friday, March 20, 2020.
- Spring 2020 Commencement - ; diplomas will be mailed in late spring.
Building & LAB Access
51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab
The 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab is closed until further notice (as of 5 p.m. Friday, March 20). Going forward, security will be stationed at the Lab entrance and only essential personnel will be allowed to access campus.
Durham Campus
In an effort to monitor social distancing on campus and assure compliance with essential personnel, 51±¬ÁĎ Card Services is monitoring all building entries via card swipes. If you are not essential personnel but need to enter a building, please email Kevin Smith and let him know when and why you need access. This will help us stay accountable with university mandates.
Masks are now required for all essential personnel and general travel around Durham, including the 51±¬ÁĎ campus.
The city of Durham has enacted a effective Thursday, March 26 at 6 p.m.
Per 51±¬ÁĎ administration, this city-wide order supersedes all other 51±¬ÁĎ policies and applies to all 51±¬ÁĎ citizens, including faculty, staff and students, with specific exemptions for healthcare workers. Though you may live in a different city that does not currently have stay-at-home order in place, access to campus is still restricted since it is within the city.
Research Lab Access
- Individuals who are maintaining critical research laboratory functions may continue to do so provided they observe safety guidelines – see the website ("Guidance for Graduate and Postdoc Lab Research" tab) for details
- Undergraduates may not return to campus research labs. This applies even to undergraduates who are currently in town or are in 51±¬ÁĎ dorms. Undergraduate students who are conducting independent studies or research projects for a class in a professor’s lab must be provided distance options to complete their work, such as data analysis or a research paper.
- Those doing non-laboratory-based research must work remotely unless aspects of your work involve your presence on campus.
- Faculty mentors must be flexible with lab members, especially those who may be at higher risk or have special concerns.
- PhD students and postdoctoral fellows refer to the memos and FAQ in the PhD section for the latest updates.
Travel & Visas
- On March 20, the United States Department of State issued a statement temporarily suspending all routine visa appointments. There is no specific timeline for when the suspension will be lifted. American citizens and current visa holders should not be affected. 51±¬ÁĎ Visa Services will continue to accept and process Visa document requests for students, scholars and employees so they will be ready when consulates and embassies begin the appointments at a later date. If you have any questions regarding the pending status of incoming J-1 visa visitors, please contact 51±¬ÁĎ Visa Services atvisahelp@mc.duke.edu. For additional information, visit the .
- All non-essential university-funded travel, both domestic and international, is suspended. Travel by car or van in small groups (< 4 people) is allowable, for essential research activities. PIs are strongly encouraged to avoid or minimize their staff, student and their time in public places while traveling for essential activities.
RELATED LINKS
Prospective & Admitted Students
MEM, MF and DEL-MEM application re-opened through July 15
We recognize that uncertain times require flexibility. To accommodate the unexpected circumstances created by COVID-19, we’ve re-opened our application process and extended the deadline to July 15 for fall 2020 enrollment in our professional master's programs.
Announcements
- (Email from Sherri Nevius, Associate Dean, Student Services)
- (Memo from Dean Toddi Steelman)
Current MEM & MF Students
Work/Study, Assistantships, CPT/OPT (for MEM and MF students)
MEM and MF Students with Assistantships
All efforts should be made for students to continue working their assistantship assignment remotely. Supervisors are asked to please provide as much work as can be done remotely. If a student’s assistantship includes lab work and the student must be in communication with their supervisor and follow the instructions coming from university administration. Access to labs has been a changing situation so be sure you are in communication with your manager before you take any action. For additional guidance on safety guidelines, see the website ("Guidance for Graduate and Postdoc Lab Research" tab).
It may not be possible to complete 8 hours every week, but students should still track and report actual hours worked. Supervisors and students are asked to be in direct communication to make arrangements.
Students are scheduled to receive two more payments, one in March and one in April.
MEM and MF Students with Work/Study
If you have a work/study job on campus and you can continue to do your work remotely, please be in communication with your manager to coordinate the completion of your work. You do not have to be in North Carolina to complete work/study hours. Remember that the maximum you can earn during the 2019-2020 academic year is $3,000.
If your work/study job cannot be done remotely, please contact your manager and your payroll clerk. You will be provided with guidance on what compensation may be available for you for the remainder of the semester.
MEM and MF students needing help with CPT or OPT
CPT applications for summer work: Go to the 51±¬ÁĎ Visa Services website, :
- Read the instructions for CPT applications and download the three-part form.
- Send completed parts 1 and 2, the letter of employment and a blank part 3 to Assistant Dean Cindy Peters.
- Allow at least 2 business days for her to review the materials, complete part 3 and return everything to you.
OPT application for May 2020 graduating students: Send your request via email to Assistant Dean Cindy Peters including;
- Your full legal name as it appears on your passport and visa
- Your program area
Allow at least 2 business days for her to generate the letter and send it to you.
Additional details about OPT are at the 51±¬ÁĎ Visa Services website, .
Career & Professional Development Center (for MEM and MF students)
We understand that current events are causing new uncertainties for job and internship searches and we are here to help you think creatively about contingency plans. Career & Professional Development Center (CPDC) resources will remain available to professional master's students during this time – with some format adaptations:
- CPDC student appointments will now be conducted remotely. All coaches will use Zoom, Skype or phone to connect with students. Nicholas School students should continue to with CPDC Coaches.
- Please consider booking an appointment with our NC State Graduate Assistant Ram Athavale so that he may complete his practicum requirements for student interaction.
If you have questions or concerns related to job or internship searching modifications related to COVID-19 response, please contact us at careers@nicholas.duke.edu and we will respond via email as soon as we can.
Contact List for Student Services Team
Your student services team is here for you via email, by phone appointment and possibly Zoom. Reach out to these people depending on your questions or concerns:
- Sherri Nevius, Associate Dean – General students services, policy, NSOE leadership


Administrative Support

- Mary Beth Magallanes, Staff Assistant – General questions, access to resources


Career and Professional Development 

- Allison Besch, Director
- Deanna Knighton, Assistant Director
- Melissa Hunter, Assistant Director
- Moriah Carleton, Program Specialist
Student Administration
- Cynthia Peters, Assistant Dean – Financial aid, OPT/CPT, academic challenges, personal issues, visa status issues

- Erika Lovelace, Registrar and Associate Director – Registration, graduation, prerequisites, new applications for visas

- Katie Wood, Assistant Director Undergrad and 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab Programs – CEMs at the Marine Lab, academic and curricular questions at the Marine Lab

- Gwendy Womble, Program Coordinator, 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab – Registration for Marine Lab courses

- Danielle Wiggins, Assistant Director, NSOE PhD Programs – Primary resource for all doctoral students in Durham
- Rachel LoPiccolo, MSC PhD Programs, 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab – Primary resource for doctoral students at the 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab
- 
Laura Collins, Program Coordinator, Professional Masters Programs, nsoe-mastersproject@duke.edu
- Kelley Robbins-Thompson, Program Administrator, Distance Learning and Professional Programs – Contact for DEL-MEM students

Wellness & Support
If you have questions or suggestions for keeping our community connected and supported during this time of rapid change and uncertainty, please reach out to the Nicholas School Care and Support Team at care+support@nicholas.duke.edu.
Resource List
Following the advice of the Center for Disease Control (CDC): If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your healthcare provider for medical advice. View .
For the 51±¬ÁĎ Community
- - NetID login required - support for essential workers including child care, elder care and pet care, as well as listings for part-time and full-time work, housing, rentals, items for sale and other services
for all Students
New Initiatives
-
- Benefits undergraduate, graduate and professional students in all schools; created to help alleviate the unexpected burden of student expenses such as airline tickets, temporary housing, food, lost summer employment, technology for online learning and more.
-
- The Graduate & Professional Student Council (GPSC) Community Pantry has launched two new programs in lieu of regular operations. All 51±¬ÁĎ students—including undergraduate, graduate and professional students—are eligible. The also includes an updated list of active local food banks.
- GPSC e-Gift Card Program is for one-time assistance.
- GPSC Grocery Bag Delivery Program is for students in the local area.
- The Graduate & Professional Student Council (GPSC) Community Pantry has launched two new programs in lieu of regular operations. All 51±¬ÁĎ students—including undergraduate, graduate and professional students—are eligible. The also includes an updated list of active local food banks.
-
- No-cost mental health support for any full or part-time degree-seeking undergraduate, graduate or professional student residing in the United States. Offering 24/7 support for common issues and concerns that can be safely and accurately discussed and treated virtually. Students outside the U.S. should reach out to .
updated services
-
- Official updates on the services available from Academic Advising, the Academic Resource Center (ARC), 51±¬ÁĎ Libraries, Blue Devils Care, CAPS, 51±¬ÁĎReach, Student Health, Student Disabilities Access Office and 51±¬ÁĎ OIT
- Student Health is OPEN. for a phone, video or in-person visit.
- Not sure if you need an appointment? Call 919-681-9355, option 2, to consult with a triage nurse.
- For urgent matters after hours, call 919-966-3820 to speak to a nurse at UNC Healthlink.
- Campus Center Pharmacy is OPEN, .
- CAPS: Call 919-660-1000 for mental health services or referrals, .
- 51±¬ÁĎReach: Concerned about the physical or mental wellbeing of yourself or another student? or call 919-681-2455.​
-
- DuWell is online: , join an or participate in .
for International Students
- is open online, office hours: 9 AM – 5 PM. Sign up for a remote advising appointment with an International House staff member and learn which programs will be moving to an online format.
for Graduate Students
for faculty & staff
- - Online fitness programs, emotional health services, health assessments and webinars on various health topics
Marine Lab community
Durham Community
- – compiled by End Hunger Durham, info updated daily
Technology Support
Below are the remote-access technologies that most of us will need this semester. Documentation and training opportunities are listed for each. For advice on other technologies such as Sakai, Box and Office 365, visit the and pages.
Internet Access
- – Major carriers such as Spectrum, AT&T and Frontier all have hotspots around North Carolina and the country. Check out the maps of their locations (note: AT&T does not publish a map of their locations).
- Spectrum – Beginning Monday, March 16, :
- Charter Communications will offer free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription and at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households.
- Charter will open its Wi-Fi hotspots across our footprint for public use.
- Spectrum does not have data caps or hidden fees.
-
Verizon – When a Verizon customer is experiencing hardships because of COVID-19, Verizon will waive late fees for 60 days from March 16, 2020 to May 16, 2020, and will not terminate service to a customer who's been impacted by the events involving the Coronavirus. If our customers are experiencing a hardship, they should call our customer service team to discuss their situation and available options. Customer support contact numbers, an online chat feature and support content can be found on the following pages:
-
Wireless:
-
Business:
-
In Home:
-
Device Access (for undergraduates)
Some students may have limited access to a device while learning remotely. To meet this need, 51±¬ÁĎ is providing equipment to some eligible undergraduate students who submit this .
Zoom – Host courses, meetings and presentations online
Documentation
Virtual Training Sessions
- NSOE IT Team-Hosted Zoom Help Sessions:
- Recordings of past sessions to be posted soon
How-to Videos
Questions?
Email zoom-resources@nicholas.duke.edu for technical help with Zoom.
VPN – Create a secure connection from your computer to 51±¬ÁĎ's network
You will likely need to use 51±¬ÁĎ's VPN (Virtual Private Network) to connect to classroom and networked resources from off campus. Multi-factor authentication will be required to log in to the VPN.
Step 1 - Install VPN Client
You will need to install the Cisco AnyConnect - Secure Mobility Client software onto your computer.
- Visit the to download the VPN client.
- Or you can visit to automatically install the appropriate version of the VPN software onto your computer.
Step 2 - Connect to the vpn
- Open your Cisco AnyConnect VPN software (double click the icon) or go to
- VPN: Enter/choose vpn.duke.edu
- Click 'Connect'
In the next pop-up window, enter:
- Group: –D±đ´Ú˛ąłÜ±ôłŮ– (other VPN contexts should not be needed to access Nicholas School resources)
- Username: your 51±¬ÁĎ NetID
- Password: your 51±¬ÁĎ NetID password
The last step is multi-factor authentication (MFA):
- Choose the number corresponding to your preferred MFA method
For step by step screenshots,
Map/Mount a Network Drive Remotely
Access your R:, S: or Z: Drive Remotely
- Step 1: To connect to Nicholas School servers from offsite, you will need to connect to the VPN (see section above).
- Step 2: Follow instructions to map/mount a network drive:
Microsoft Teams – Chat and collaborate with your team(s)
Documentation
Virtual Training Sessions
- NSOE IT Team-Hosted Zoom Help Sessions:
- Recordings of past sessions to be posted soon
Phone Calls & Voicemails
- – You can forward your 51±¬ÁĎ phone to another number, such as your cell phone while working remotely.
- – Use this form to request that your 51±¬ÁĎ voicemail messages be delivered to your campus email inbox as an audio file (.wav) attachment.
Specialized Software: Arc GIS / STATA / ENVI
ArcGIS
If you are having issues with GIS software install, contact John Fay.
Arc Pro GIS local install (on your personal PC): Any student can install Arc locally if they have a PC (not Mac) with at least 8 GB of RAM. If you have an adequate laptop, follow directions here (don’t use OIT’s links—they are for a different version):
ArcPro 2.4.3 [version installed in the Nicholas School labs]
Arc software via virtual machine: Information whether you are enrolled, or not in a GIS course this semester, are here
STATA, ENVI, etc.
If your laptop is NOT adequate for a local install or the software you need is proprietary (STATA, ENVI), please and we’ll get back to you with options for access.
NSOE Community Messages
This section contains a dated record of the major updates issued by the Nicholas School and the 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab, organized by recipient group.
Updates for NSOE Research Community
5/13/2020 Phase III 51±¬ÁĎ Policies for Employees Approved to Return to Research Laboratories
Overview: The response to the COVID-19 epidemic at 51±¬ÁĎ, like many of our national peers, can be categorized into four general phases:
- Phase 1: Ramping down of essential activities, continuation of clearly relevant research into COVID-19, and execution of the shelter in place order.
- Phase 2: Performance of time-sensitive research whose pause would seriously damage future viability of the research program.
- Phase 3. Gradual, monitored restarting of some research and careful expansion.
- Phase 4. Beginning of a return to normal operations with permanently enhanced safety guidelines.
We describe below a set of general requirements in research-intensive buildings as we begin the transition from phase 2 to phase 3. While we hope to move forward and bring more researchers back to campus, we reserve the right to return to phase 2 or even 1 if the situation dictates this or to relocate or remove employees as needed. Our guiding principle is and will continue to be to mitigate health and safety risks to our employees and students based on the advice of health care professionals and other experts.
To reduce the risks of employees potentially being exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in the workplace or exposing others, we aim to keep the density of our workforce as low as possible at any given time and to create a balanced daily plan that maintains safe distances between employees. The most important three elements that will help keep you and others safe are: (i) wearing a face covering; (ii) regularly washing your hands; and (iii) keeping your distance from other people. Compliance with the instructions outlined below, as well as those from your supervisor and administration is required for continued access; violation may result in the immediate revocation of building access privileges and/or other appropriate disciplinary action.
No two laboratories are alike. The directives listed here describe approaches that were devised in collaboration with experts in the area of infectious disease control and have been shared with our peers across the country. However, we urge you to collaborate with us to continually improve the safety of your workplace. For example, your work may involve the frequent use of shared equipment, such as a microscope: what extra cleaning precautions could you take to further minimize the risk to you and your coworkers? Perhaps the route to your laboratory could benefit from an additional strategically placed hand washing station? Please reach out to Kevin Smith or Shila Nordone in Durham and Rebecca Smith in DUML if you wish to discuss safety measures for your specific lab/location. In order to reduce our risks as much as possible, this must be a partnership.
General Principles
- If you believe that you are at a higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and you are concerned about reporting to work or if you wish to seek a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, you should contact the Disability Management System (DMS) or EOHW to discuss further. You can reach EOHW by calling 919-684-3136, choosing option #2, and asking to speak with a COVID support team provider.
- Before you leave home for work, you must complete the online EOHW screening checklist. If flagged by the screening checklist, you must contact the COVID-19 hotline at 919-385-0429, as well as your direct supervisor, and act on their instructions.
- If you have tested positive for COVID-19, have been referred for testing by EOHW or are awaiting test results, you must notify your supervisor immediately, and you may not come to work for any reason until approved by EOHW.
- Entry to buildings will be regulated and monitored. You will be assigned a window of time, as well as a specific door of entry, to access your building. Your 51±¬ÁĎ card/badge is required for entry to all research buildings; you may not hold or open exterior doors for any other person.
- You may not bring visitors, visiting trainees, guests or pets to work.
- If you don’t do hands-on lab work (for example, if your role is that of a supervisor, PI, department chair or director) and there is no clear need for you to come to campus, you should not do so in the current phase.
- Face covering must be worn at all times in 51±¬ÁĎ facilities, including leased buildings, until further notice. This includes: when entering the 51±¬ÁĎ campus; while at work; and when leaving campus. Disposable masks will be provided. We expect you to use only one clean mask per day.
- You must wash your hands at regular intervals. Handwashing stations or hand sanitizer dispensers will be installed throughout the buildings, but especially in elevator areas, and common areas. You must wash your hands before entry into the lab and just prior to exit from the lab.
- When you begin your work in your lab area and when you leave any room in which you have been working at the end of your day at work, you must swab down all work areas with 70% ethanol or equivalent solution. This includes any shared-space location.
- No more than one person may enter an elevator at a time. Please use the stairs whenever possible and do not congregate in those areas.
- Convening in groups represents a high risk of viral transmission and is not permitted. No more than one person may be in common/highly frequented areas (e.g., lunchroom, office, bathroom, office, conference room) at a time. You are encouraged to eat meals outside if this is reasonable for your situation, and you may leave the campus for lunch. You should eat alone. If you utilize common areas (break rooms, restrooms, conference areas, etc., you will need to wipe down surfaces with 70% ethanol or equivalent solution (Virex spray, Hydrogen Peroxide wipes).
- During your time at work, you should continue to communicate with your colleagues and supervisors by the extensive range of available networking apps, e.g., Zoom, WebEx, Facetime, Livesafe, etc.
- Time in labs will be scheduled in shifts. It is essential that you vacate the building at or before the designated time, and leave ample time to swab down areas before you exit.
- Your shift will be coordinated and assigned by your PI who understands your lab and building. All 24 hours of the day can be utilized.
- If you’re working at a typical lab bench, no other person may also be working in the same bay (i.e., laterally).
- Nobody may be working in the labs directly in front of you or behind you during your shift.
- As you work, you should spend the majority of your time at a distance of at least 15 feet from the next person. Although lab activities often will require brief interactions at a smaller distance, your goal is to keep at least 250 square feet around you.
- For laboratories where the typical number of active lab personnel would exceed this density, the PI will be responsible for determining which individuals will be allowed to work in each designated shift for their group.
- When you leave work, you must log out using the link provided to you at the time you register.
5/13/2020 Memo: Facilitating Laboratory Equipment Repairs During Ramp-Up
We understand the need for external equipment maintenance and repair personnel to visit 51±¬ÁĎ labs as we ramp-up research activities. It is the expectation that all outside service providers will follow 51±¬ÁĎ’s established sanitation and distancing standards during their time in our facilities and leased spaces. While we have been advised against requiring symptom attestations for external visitors, a good practice would be to ask the service company to provide you with some details regarding the checks/monitoring they are doing with their employees. Keep this information in your records of the repair visit.
The following general practices should be employed with outside service personnel:
- When scheduling the service visit, ask that the technician wear a face mask before entering 51±¬ÁĎ buildings or leased facilities.
- Ask your service technician to call you when they arrive at your building and meet them at the entrance or loading dock to let them in.
- Have a face mask ready in case the technician is not wearing one.
- Orient the technician to the location of sanitizing stations.
- Explain the safety and distancing practices that must be observed while on campus (i.e., proper mask usage, 6 ft distancing, sanitization practices, etc.).
- Escort the service technician to the work area; orient them to the location of sinks for hand washing, sanitizer spray or wipes for clean-up, etc.
- When work is complete, escort the technician out of the building.
- Report any concerns with contractor behavior to your departmental business office.
3/13/2020 Memo: Follow up research info//Undergraduates are NOT allowed to return to research labs
From: Toddi Steelman
Date: Friday, March 13, 2020 2:28 PM
Hi all,
Faculty – one aspect that just changed following the research-related email that I sent a short time ago.
Undergraduates may not return to campus research labs. This applies even to undergraduates who are currently in town or are in 51±¬ÁĎ dorms. Undergraduate students who are conducting independent studies or research projects for a class in a professor’s lab must be provided distance options to complete their work, such as data analysis or a research paper. They cannot return to research labs.
There will be a follow up email to individual faculty advising independent studies and honors theses with various options for completion.
3/13/2020 Memo: Coronavirus and Research
From: Toddi Steelman
Date: Friday, March 13, 2020 at 12:30 PM
Dear NSOE Research Community -
As a follow up to the comprehensive , VP of Research for 51±¬ÁĎ, and the , I wanted to provide some additional information for the NSOE research community.
To reiterate, while on-campus classes have been suspended and moved online due to COVID-19, the University and the Health System remain in operation. We understand that this necessitates making adjustments and accommodations, and we plan to provide updated information pertinent to the NSOE research enterprise here: .
If you are involved in research, please take the time needed to review the that VP Carin’s office has set up, which contains comprehensive research-related issues to the COVID-19 situation. Please direct any unanswered questions you may have to the Research Help widget in .
Below are some specific items I want to call to your attention:
Research Personnel
If possible, all research personnel should be encouraged to work remotely and minimize their time on-campus and working with others. If they must be in the laboratory please be sure they .
We realize that research experiments involving technicians, laboratory managers, postdoctoral fellows, PhD students and MEM students are ongoing, and often on a strict timeline. Additional guidance from 51±¬ÁĎ is in email below. Per 51±¬ÁĎ’s recommendations, these activities should continue - with the minimum number of required people in a laboratory environment at a single time - to enable social distancing. We are awaiting a decision from 51±¬ÁĎ regarding continuation of undergraduate involvement in research activity, and whether they will be allowed to return to campus to complete projects. For the sake of safety, no one should work in a laboratory alone, and PIs are encouraged to schedule at least two team members on rotating shifts to ensure research is performed in a safe manner.
You may have lab personnel that due to personal or family reasons are concerned about performing their duties in the lab or workplace and are unable to work full time remotely. Should this be a concern, please contact Jeanne Ryan to discuss the situation.
Disinfection Practices
Beyond using a buddy system, laboratories are encouraged to routinely – including door handles, light switches and other commonly touched surfaces. COVID-19 is an enveloped virus that can persist on surfaces for a significant amount of time, and may remain infectious for days. Frequent hand washing with soap (rather than ethanol or isopropyl-based products) and avoidance of air hand dryers is also highly recommended. Alcohol-based products alone – in the absence of a detergent or bleach – take up to 20 minutes to neutralize virus on a surface.
Building Access
To adhere to the administration’s recommendation of social distancing, access to the school will also be curtailed. This means:
- As per the recent communications from Campus Operations, all buildings on 51±¬ÁĎ’s main campus in Durham will go into a controlled-access status that will require a 51±¬ÁĎID card for entry.
- If you need to meet someone, try to do so online or via a call.
- You should not use GH or LSRC to hang out, as co-working space to collaborate, or to simply use 51±¬ÁĎ Wi-Fi. Group meetings should be held virtually.
- For your safety and the safety of others, please follow the .
Grant Proposals, Expenditures and Project Reporting
Until further notice, grant submission deadlines, including ORS routing deadlines remain unchanged. If you have extenuating circumstances, 51±¬ÁĎ recommends coordinating with ORS and your program officer.
Expenditures, including CorporateCard (aka P card) use, for essential research expenses continues to be allowed. Please consult the for further details and contact your grant administrator with questions. Depending on the situation, you may have to allocate expenses to sources other than your project fund, pending further communications with the sponsor. In certain instances, we may need to exercise discretion as to what funds are targeted for initial expenses which could be moved later pending communications with compliance officers.
Travel
President Price has said “At this time, we are also suspending all non-essential university-funded travel, both domestic and international.” It is important to note that “university-funded” refers to all of your accounts, including discretionary dollars, grant money, sponsored-research funds and any other funds held by 51±¬ÁĎ.
Air travel - both domestic and international - for all purposes is prohibited at the current time. Travel by car or van in small groups (< 4 people) is allowable, for essential research activities. PIs are strongly encouraged to avoid or minimize their staff, student and their time in public places while traveling for essential activities. If you have essential, non-local travel please email me to explain the need and provide written justification as to the essential nature of the travel.
I greatly appreciate your cooperation during this challenging time. I am confident we can make this work! Next week I’ll host a virtual town hall and we can discuss these issues further if needed.
Best,
Toddi
SEE BELOW FOR A MESSAGE FROM CENTRAL DUKE ABOUT GRAD STUDENT LAB ACCESS:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
GUIDANCE FOR GRADUATE LAB ACCESS
The following is information for our graduate students who participate in lab-based research. Please note that this guidance is based on our current assessment as of March 13, 2020, and is subject to change given the rapidly evolving situation.
At present, 51±¬ÁĎ labs remain open but with restrictions for access. Ph.D. and master’s students, as well as postdoctoral researchers and other lab staff, are permitted on campus to perform laboratory-based research. Students doing non-laboratory-based research must work remotely unless aspects of your work involve your presence on campus.
While we are working to maintain our research activities, our first priority is your health and well-being. Toward that end, we will follow these guidelines:
- Faculty mentors must be flexible with lab members, especially those who may be at higher risk or have special concerns.
- We encourage the use of so that students are able to work remotely for all or part of their time.
- If students absolutely need to be in the lab, lab teams should discuss ways to promote good lab hygiene and enable social distancing through options such as taking shifts. 51±¬ÁĎ has provided specific guidance for “.”
- While current policy permits meetings with fewer than 50 51±¬ÁĎ faculty, staff or students, labs should consider using for lab meetings if this is more comfortable for the team under the current circumstances.
- Students and other lab members who have been traveling should . Labs can add additional requirements, even if the student was not in a level 2 or 3 country, and help arrange for students to work remotely during this period.
- For students who would typically present a poster for their research, we are planning to do the poster sessions remotely. Faculty can review work, then provide feedback. Alternatively, groups might consider Zoom-based poster presentations, if scheduling allows.
We encourage open communication to ensure agreement about procedures for returning doctoral or master’s student researchers in each lab. We have asked all faculty to work with students to accommodate their particular situations while helping each student continue their research path under the current circumstances. If there are disagreements, students are encouraged to speak to the department DGS or DMS, whose role is to advocate for students.
If you have questions, please contact your DGS or DMS or any department/school leader. We appreciate your flexibility and patience as we all work together to ensure a healthy and productive remainder of the semester.
----------------------------------------------------------
Michael Schoenfeld
Vice President for Public Affairs & Government Relations and
Chief Communications Officer
Updates for Faculty
3/26/2020 Memo – Toddi Steelman: Durham Stay at Home Order // Effective Thursday 6 p.m.
From: Toddi A. Steelman, Stanback Dean, Nicholas School of the Environment
Date: March 25, 2020 at 6:24 p.m.
Dear NSOE Faculty & Staff:
As you likely know at this point, due to the Coronavirus, the city of Durham has enacted a stay-at-home order effective Thursday, March 26, at 6 pm.
51±¬ÁĎ administration has said that that this city-wide order supersedes all other 51±¬ÁĎ policies and applies to all 51±¬ÁĎ citizens, including faculty, staff and students, with specific exemptions for healthcare workers.
Please adhere to the following:
- Individuals who are maintaining critical research laboratory functions may continue to do so provided they observe safety guidelines.
- Access to offices and classrooms, however, for the purposes of teaching online classes, is no longer permitted.
- If you feel you need to come in for a critical reason, speak to your department chair.
- Though you may live in a different city that does not currently have stay-at-home order in place, access to campus is still restricted since it is within the city.
I know these are frustrating and confusing times, and I applaud all that you have done in adapting to the many changes.
Stay safe!
Toddi
3/17/2020 Memo – John Blackshear: Undergraduate Teaching Memo for Faculty
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
The Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has held two remote meetings for Directors of Undergraduate Studies to discuss undergraduate instruction in light of . Our collective goal is to provide the best academic experience possible, given that we are in a public health crisis. We urge you to be creative and flexible but also realistic in your expectations of our students and ourselves.
Please remember that Spring Break was officially extended until March 23. Classes are suspended this week as students are encouraged to get to safety, settle in, and prepare for the resumption of classes. Coursework originally due this week should be rescheduled to a later due date. All faculty with coursework due this week must communicate to their students that assignments will be rescheduled for a time when classes are back in session.
Transitioning to Remote Course Delivery
Your focus this week should be planning how you intend to deliver the remainder of your course material for the spring semester. Faculty are required to submit updated syllabi that reflect their plans to their DUS and/or Assistant to the DUS by Friday, March 20. They should also be uploaded and disseminated via your usual departmental methods. We understand that these syllabi will reflect your intentions, but may change as you learn how best to conduct remote learning for your particular courses.
51±¬ÁĎ is allowing maximum flexibility to instructors to find the most appropriate ways to deliver course content and fulfill student contact-time requirements. There are many suggestions about how to do this on the website. However, if you plan to hold synchronous remote learning, you must record those sessions to accommodate students in varying time zones. We cannot penalize students who require an asynchronous experience. As you think through your approach, we encourage you to consider all possible contingencies – including how you would teach from home, if necessary.
Conducting Assessments
We recognize that another key challenge faced by instructors is how to conduct assessments like tests as well as class participation ratings. Instructors are free to conduct student assessments but we encourage you to think about whether you might conduct open-resource assessments. More guidance on upholding academic integrity during this time is coming and technical support for creating online assessments is available through .
Academic Advising for Fall 2020
Bookbagging and registration for fall 2020 will begin on March 23 and April 1, respectively. Those dates remain unchanged for now. We are encouraging, but not requiring, that students have virtual academic advisor meetings before registration. Departments should, however, ensure that all majors are made automatically eligible for registration to avoid any disruption when Fall enrollment opens.
Reminders and Resources
For the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester:
- Students are not allowed to return to campus for classes or meetings, or to work in labs or at other jobs – no exceptions. In addition, students may not return to 51±¬ÁĎ labs or other facilities that are off campus.
- The length of the semester will not be extended.
- Graduation plans have not yet been announced.
You may be receiving questions from students, parents, and colleagues. If those questions go beyond the scope of your own courses or into matters of departmental, Trinity or 51±¬ÁĎ policies, please direct people to the following websites, as well as up the ladder to DUSs, department chairs, and leadership in Trinity:
- The official 51±¬ÁĎ response website – – has extensive information and links to many other resources, including guidance on events, travel, graduate education, research operations, and more.
- Resources for remote teaching:
- Resources for students, including access to learning materials while they are away from campus:
- Resources for staff members:
The university response is evolving, and we expect to receive more guidance over time. We appreciate your patience as we seek to continuously provide the most up-to-date and accurate information.
John Blackshear
Dean of Academic Affairs
-and-
Directors of Undergraduate Studies
3/16/2020 Memo – DUSes: Undergraduate Independent Study Courses
From: NSOE Directors of Undergraduate Study
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2020 3:31 PM
Dear Colleague,
We are writing to faculty overseeing undergraduate Independent Study EOS or ENV courses (either Research or non-Research Independent Study).
As you know, 51±¬ÁĎ is committed to completing the spring semester through remote instruction. Depending on the type of course, this may require not only a change in the mode of instruction, but also a modification of course expectations. There is a wealth of information and suggested strategies at 51±¬ÁĎ’s Keep Teaching web site:
The transition to remote instruction poses particular challenges for Independent Study courses, which often involve lab- or field-based research, because undergraduates are barred from campus. The situation is undoubtedly creating huge amounts of stress and anxiety for students as they attempt to complete their coursework, especially for seniors who are expected to graduate this May.
We have received some guidance from the Trinity administration on Independent Studies. To the extent possible, they ask that we work with students to adapt the expectations for their Independent Study projects for the next 5 weeks so that they can reasonably earn full credit, even though they cannot be on campus. In fact, we are being asked to operate under the assumption that students will only be able to work online for the rest of this semester. If they can’t engage in data collection through online resources, there are a number of ways that expectations can be modified while still keeping them engaged with the research, including:
- Data analysis (assuming that they can access data remotely from outside of 51±¬ÁĎ).
- Literature reviews.
- Expanded write-up of the semester’s efforts to date.
- Participation and/or presentation at lab or other meetings though remote connections (e.g., Zoom or Skype).
At this time, the Trinity Administration has discouraged assigning Incompletes or students Withdrawing from Independent Study unless absolutely necessary. In the coming week, please contact any student you oversee in an independent Study course, and work together to come to agreement on modified course expectations.
Thank you for being flexible and creative in working to find viable solutions for our students under very trying circumstances. Feel free to contact us or others involved in Nicholas School undergraduate programs if you have questions – we will try to get you answers.
Best,
3/16/2020 Memo – Deb Gallagher: Graduate Independent Study Courses
From: Deborah Gallagher, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Professional Studies
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2020 9:11 AM
Dear Colleagues,
I’m writing to you because you are overseeing one or more Independent Study course (either Research or non-Research Independent Study). As you know, 51±¬ÁĎ took the unprecedented measure to suspend all on-campus instruction, and has prohibited our students from being on campus.
This is a challenging situation, for you and your students. To compound the challenge, the semester is still in session. Students are still enrolled in classes, including Independent Study courses, despite their absence from campus. And we are being asked to continue to teach, complete our instructional obligations, and award grades with the usual deadlines.
As courses transition to remote instruction, this is clearly problematic for a lab- or place-based Independent Study course. Nevertheless, many of our students are depending on successful completion of their Independent Studies to satisfy graduation requirements. Needless to say, this is especially pressing for second year MEM students, who are still expected to complete their requirements and graduate this May.
Please try to adapt the expectations for your students’ Independent Studies for the next 5 weeks so that they can reasonably earn full credit. While graduate students are not prohibited from engaging in lab research at this time, in expectation of that requirement changing soon, please consider protocols to minimize the need for on-site lab time, for example by focusing on:
- Data analysis (assuming that they can access data remotely from outside of 51±¬ÁĎ).
- Literature reviews.
- Expanded write-up of the semester’s efforts to date.
I encourage you to adopt procedures for independent study students to participate in lab or other meetings though . 51±¬ÁĎ has offered these .
In the coming week, please contact any student you oversee in an independent Study course, and together work to come to agreement on modified course expectations.
Thank you for being flexible and creative in working to find viable solutions for our students under very trying circumstances.
Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Best,
3/13/2020 Memo – Martin Doyle: ACTION REQUIRED - Course Resources & Info
From: Martin Doyle, Rebecca Vidra, Paul Zizzo
Date: Friday, March 13, 2020
- As part of 51±¬ÁĎ’s requirement that all courses move online, you need to create an online course (with zoom being the preferred and recommended platform). You must send your zoom course link to zoom-support@nicholas.duke.edu by March 18 at 3pm. The link that we need will be something like this (https://duke.zoom.us/s/535974461) but with a number that is specific to your course. We will be tracking this requirement for every course for which the NSOE has primary registrar responsibility.
- Please respond to this email to let me know that you do or do not have what you need to move forward with teaching online and online course creation. If you do not have what you need to move forward, we will know to move resources to you.
- If you are just getting started, please by Paul Zizzo, which covers all aspects of setting up and managing your Zoom course meetings.
- For general resources: 51±¬ÁĎ Learning Innovation has a well-organized, streamlined page at to help you transition your course online, with information on teaching approaches and activities and, importantly, contact hour requirements.
We have organized a team, headed by NSOE OIT’s Paul Zizzo and Rebecca Vidra, who are ready to assist with you with the following:
- Shared mailbox: if you have TECHNICAL questions about teaching via zoom, you can email them to zoom-support@nicholas.duke.edu and one of our crackerjack team members will respond. We have hired additional resources to get through the transition, so we should be able to get help to you quickly.
- Consulting with Rebecca Vidra for preparing your course: Given Rebecca’s experience with DEL, she (or another DEL Faculty member) can help you think creatively about how to cover the course content for the remaining part of the semester. We are also putting together some resources for those who will balancing teaching with child care, as local schools begin to close.
- First week of classes (March 23 and following): we have a list of every class, date, and time. A member of the NSOE zoom-support team will join your course online for the first 15-20 mins to confirm everything is working well. This is why we need the link to your zoom course, so that one of our team members can join to ensure everything is working well. If we don’t have that link, we can’t help or be immediately on call
- Work with your TA and keep us in the loop: Please work with your course TAs to develop a plan for moving forward, and keep Rebecca and me in the loop on those plans. Keep in mind that we have many resources to help, and several of our colleagues have stepped up to coordinate efforts and answer questions.
We will continue to add resources and contacts to our NSOE COVID-19 page.
Thanks for your continued patience,
Martin, Rebecca, and Paul
3/13/2020 Memo – Toddi Steelman: Follow up research info//Undergraduates are NOT allowed to return to research labs
From: Toddi Steelman
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2020 2:28 PM
Hi all,
Faculty – one aspect that just changed following the research-related email that I sent a short time ago.
Undergraduates may not return to campus research labs. This applies even to undergraduates who are currently in town or are in 51±¬ÁĎ dorms. Undergraduate students who are conducting independent studies or research projects for a class in a professor’s lab must be provided distance options to complete their work, such as data analysis or a research paper. They cannot return to research labs.
There will be a follow up email to individual faculty advising independent studies and honors theses with various options for completion.
3/11/2020 Memo – Toddi Steelman: NSOE Covid-19 Response//URGENT
From: Toddi Steelman
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2020 5:23 PM
Dear Nicholas School Faculty –
As explained in the that was sent to all faculty, staff and students last night, while the University will remain open and operational, all classes will be moved online for the remainder of the semester.
We are in unprecedented territory and ask for your patience and cooperation going forward. I want to thank everyone who has responded to the call to action so far. Your positivity, ingenuity and tenacity are greatly appreciated. We will need more of it as we move forward.
Teaching
With regard to next week (March 16-20), we are extending Spring Break for an additional week and will not be holding classes at all (i.e., no online classes). To compensate, we will extend classes an additional week into Reading Week, through April 22nd.
This additional week of spring break release from courses makes our schedule consistent with Trinity, Pratt, and Sanford; HOWEVER, Fuqua, Law, and Divinity will proceed with starting courses on MARCH 16*. We recognize that this will cause some adjustment for some of our professional and PhD students. The week of Mar 16-20 – while a week off of teaching duties – is intended as time for you to prepare your course materials for teaching online for the remainder of the semester. It is essential that you use this period of time to prepare to teach online, and to do so as early in the week as possible to ensure enough time to work out potential technical difficulties ahead of time, where possible.
This is a rapid transition. That is the driving reason for taking a week off of teaching duties. We are committed to delivering high-quality online instruction with the goal of keeping our students on track to completing the semester and ensuring that everyone who is slated to graduate, does. We will have multiple people and resources available to assist with the technical elements of this and we are developing resources as well for rethinking pedagogy as we go online. All of these resources will be available on box and sent to you soon. In addition, all of the NSOE-specific guidelines for our student populations, faculty, researchers and staff will be updated regularly and will be available here: nicholas.duke.edu/coronavirus.
Communication with your students regarding your class will solely be your responsibility, and you will need to let your students know how to access your class, class materials, etc. However, students will likely have many other questions as well, particularly regarding degree requirements and how these changes affect things like graduation, graduating with distinction, etc. Some of these are elements that are actually managed by other schools (e.g., Trinity for undergraduates), and so we need to be careful about faculty communicating about their course, but not stepping out into areas that are outside of the course or even outside of NSOE purview. In this fluid time period, it is probably best toward being conservative with responses: identify questions as they emerge and let the student know that you will find an answer. We are here to help you find these answers.
Attendance
As explained in the memo from President Price, students should not return to campus. They should prepare to participate in classes remotely. The university will remain open and will continue daily operations. NSOE staff and faculty are expected to continue work in a normal fashion. We understand that our faculty may have health or family concerns and wish to avoid working in an office situation, or have other personal obligations that are impacted by the coronavirus and need to work remotely. If you have such a situation, discuss with your department chair.
Travel
All non-essential university-funded travel - both domestic and international – is suspended until further notice. Personal travel is permissible, but use of the 51±¬ÁĎ Travel Registry is highly recommended so that you may be reached in case of emergency.
Events
At this point, our Admitted Students Visitation Weekend is cancelled, and plans are being put in place for MP presentations and PhD defenses to be held virtually. More information will be coming as it develops, but feel free to check here often: nicholas.duke.edu/coronavirus.
contacts
Please direct any questions you may have to:
Marine Lab Academics
- Undergraduate – Katie Wood
- Masters/PhD – Rachel LoPiccolo, Jim Hench
- Professional – Grant Murray
Main Campus Academics
- Undergraduate – Emily Klein
- Masters/Professional – Deb Gallagher
- PhD – Nicolas Cassar
Other Questions
- Marine Lab Non-Academic Questions – Stephanie Klein
- Main Campus Non-Academic Questions – Sherri Nevius, Cindy Peters
- Employee Questions - Jeanne Ryan
*The first version of this email erroneously stated May 16 as the date courses will resume in Fuqua, Law, and Divinity. The correct date is March 16. A follow-up email correcting the error was sent shortly after the original message.
3/09/2020 Memo – Martin Doyle: Transitioning to on-line teaching
From: Martin Doyle
Date: Monday, March 9, 2020
Faculty – as the concerns over the spread of Covid virus grow, we are seeing several universities cancelling in-person courses and using online courses going forward in the semester (e.g., Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Univ of Washington). To be clear, we have not received any notification from 51±¬ÁĎ that they are intending to make significant changes.
For preparation, however, a set of faculty and staff here at the Nicholas School have been pulling together a plan for pivoting our courses toward online; our own experience with DEL gives us a lot to draw from, but we recognize that the scale would be more challenging if all of our courses had to shifted.
As we prepare, there are a few things that we need you to do in advance, and a few questions that we need answered. Please go through the list below to ensure that you are as ready for any changes as possible. Look particularly for questions (these are in bold and underlined).
We recognize that there are other events, meetings, conferences, field research, and related questions that will emerge in the coming days and weeks. We will handle those as they come up (we are working on those as well). For now, it would be most helpful if we can start preparing for the most impactful potential change which could occur, which is changes across all of our courses.
If you have additional questions, specific issues, or related, please note that Martin Doyle and Rebecca Vidra are the points of contact.
GENERAL INFORMATION AND RESPONSE OF DUKE TO CORONAVIRUS ().
WHAT ALL FACULTY CAN DO NOW:
- Get familiar with Zoom: The platform that is preferred for teaching online at 51±¬ÁĎ is zoom. All faculty, students, and staff have zoom accounts which allow up to 300 participants. At a minimum, use .
- The NSOE point of contact for zoom is Paul Zizzo; we will be setting up some sessions by Paul to get people more familiar/comfortable with this tool as quickly as possible and based on demand.
- Paul has already created three â€. They are on the Nicholas IT site here. Note that these are only a few minutes each, so worth doing if this is all new to you.
- Get help with Zoom when you most need it: we will be hiring additional instructional assistants to ensure that we have a squad of help. They will be available for helping with the technical/zoom part of your courses, as will Paul.
- For basic info, and more information on teaching through the changing conditions, has a lot of resources.
- Webex is still available, but 51±¬ÁĎ has largely moved toward using zoom instead.
- PLEASE NOTE: NSOE IT strongly recommends a wired connection when teaching remotely, rather than over wifi. We can provide Ethernet cables as needed. In addition, many slim laptops do not have built-in Ethernet ports, but a conversion via USB port is possible. If you need an Ethernet cable, or if you need an Ethernet-USB converter, please let Martin Doyle (martin.doyle@duke.edu) or Kevin Smith (Kevin.A.Smith@duke.edu) know.
- DO A PRACTICE RUN 2 DAYS IN ADVANCE: Faculty who have never taught remotely should practice with Zoom and other tools needed at least two business days before their first session in case they run into any issues they will have sufficient time to get support to resolve issues. We will have Paul and additional assistants available, but it is more feasible to address issues before rather than during course instruction.
FACULTY USING COMPUTER LABS
We recognize that there are some courses which are more difficult to change. For those based in the computer labs, we are working on different approaches and will be working with these specific faculty to develop steps for proceeding.
PLANNING FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEMESTER:
Electronic exams:
- Can be given through Sakai
- Nicholas and Sanford also have licensed for online exams.
- For other questions about assessment, we will be working with 51±¬ÁĎ to come up with multiple approaches and solutions.
Good news: OIT hopes to complete the transition from three 10 Gig connections into 51±¬ÁĎ to a single 100 Gig connection this week. This will help with the expected increased load from increased VPN use and remote workers.
Contact List for Faculty
Marine Lab Academics
- Undergraduate – Katie Wood
- Masters/PhD – Rachel LoPiccolo, Jim Hench
- Professional – Grant Murray
Main Campus Academics
- Undergraduate – Emily Klein
- Masters/Professional – Deb Gallagher
- PhD – Nicolas Cassar
Other Questions
- Marine Lab Non-Academic Questions – Stephanie Klein
- Main Campus Non-Academic Questions – Sherri Nevius, Cindy Peters
- Employee Questions - Jeanne Ryan
Updates for Graduate/PhD Students
5/19/2020 Memo to PhD and Postdocs: Phase III Research Ramp-Up
Dear Doctoral students and Postdoctoral fellows,
As we open more of our laboratories, we wish to address some of the questions we’ve heard from students and postdoctoral fellows. We know that you are eager to resume your research, and we are equally eager to see 51±¬ÁĎ’s research enterprise resume operations with modifications as outlined below. We also understand that opening additional laboratories is not entirely without risk. We therefore write to let you know that safeguarding your health and safety is the top priority. Accordingly, we are instituting an array of measures which are informed by our infection control team and safety experts. These have been designed to reduce our risks as we re-enter laboratories, and ultimately, other workspaces across the university, as described below:
- A daily online symptom screening system to be completed before coming to work
- A robust symptom-based testing program for our workforce
- Provision of face masks
- Controlled access to buildings in order to reduce the density of people and facilitate social distancing
- Clear instructions tailored for the Nicholas School, posted online at /coronavirus and constantly updated to describe any changes, should they occur.
- Recommendation of social distancing of 15 feet through June 1, 2020
- Clear signs in common areas and lab entry areas indicating safety guidelines
- Frequent walkthrough of labs by departmental leaders assigned to buildings
Carefully observing these measures will help to protect you. If you nonetheless show any symptoms of COVID-19, believe you have been exposed to the virus or have additional health concerns or questions about COVID-19, please contact student health (students) at 919-681-9355 or employee health (employees) at 919-684-3136. If you have tested positive for COVID-19, you are required to self-quarantine for 14 days in your own home to protect your colleagues from further exposure. Please do not hesitate to contact student health (students) or employee health (postdocs) at any time.
We have prepared the attached list of frequently asked questions regarding the reopening process and safety measures that must be observed. If you believe that your co-workers or colleagues are not observing the safety measures put into place, please contact the anonymous hotline at 1-800-826-8109 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) or .
This is a challenging time for everyone, especially as we return to activities that once seemed routine and may now feel unsafe. Should you need help, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your advisor, your DGS, or to any of the services listed below.
Please know that our principal focus is your health and safety as we seek to resume the important research to which you have devoted your education and your careers. Provost Dr. Sally Kornbluth has recorded a message for you, it can be found
51±¬ÁĎReach: 919-681-2455 or dukereach@duke.edu
51±¬ÁĎ CAPS: 919-660-1000; after 5PM on-call mental health support service: 919-966-3820
51±¬ÁĎ PAS:
Mental telehealth . Register once using the service key DUKE2020
51±¬ÁĎ
Kind regards,
Nicolas
Nicolas Cassar
Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences
Nicholas School of the Environment
51±¬ÁĎ
Box 90328
Durham, NC 27708
email. nicolas.cassar@duke.edu
tel. +1 919.681.8865
fax. +1 919.684.5833
web.
5/19/2020: FAQ for PhD Students and Postdocs Returning to the Lab
Last updated May 19, 2020
Q: Is there one central document for the university that I can study as I prepare to return?
A: Yes. Please refer to 51±¬ÁĎ’s online document describing our policies for . In addition, every School has developed their own documents that provide additional School-specific details.
Q: I received notification that my lab is approved to reopen. Now what?
A: You should receive detailed instructions from your lab PI/advisor on exactly when you may be in the lab. A schedule has been put into place for each lab; this will allow you and your lab to adhere to physical distancing guidelines. You should not begin any on-campus lab activities until the ramp-up plan has been communicated to you by the lab PI, including required procedures for all personnel returning to the labs.
Q: How does the symptom-screening and testing program work?
A: Your school will provide you with details. You will be required to complete an online screening form each day. If you develop symptoms, you will be contacted for further evaluation, and if appropriate, referred for testing.
Q: Is any accommodation being made for on-campus parking?
A: Yes. Through June 30th, 51±¬ÁĎ Parking Services will provide proximate parking for those with remote parking permits and those without individual 51±¬ÁĎ parking permits. Those with on-campus permits should park in their normal location. Please contact with specific questions.
Q: Will we resume in-person lab meetings?
A: No. All activities that can be performed virtually, must be, including individual meetings with your advisor.
Q: Can I bring my lunch and eat in the building?
A: We recommend that you eat outside in the Orchard or on the picnic tables. If weather is prohibitive you can eat inside in the common areas (Hug, 2nd and 3rd floor sitting areas) as long as you observe all guidelines provided to you and those listed in 51±¬ÁĎ’s . If you are eating in your work environment (conference room, office, etc.), you must eat alone and clean surfaces with provided products before you leave. Do not share food. Individuals should not sit facing one another. Only remove your mask or face covering in order to eat, then put it back on.
Q: Who can I contact if I see someone not observing safety guidelines on campus?
A: If you believe that your co-workers or colleagues are not observing the safety measures put into place, please contact the anonymous hotline at 1-800-826-8109 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) or online at oarc.duke.edu.
Q: I am uncomfortable coming back to work in the lab at the present time. What should I do?
A: We have made many changes to the workplace to reduce our risks as much as possible. The guidelines in place are intended, if properly followed, to reduce risks as much as possible for our faculty, staff, and students. However, if you still feel uncomfortable, please speak with your advisor, Nicolas Cassar Nicolas.Cassar@duke.edu or Jeanne Ryan <jmryan@duke.edu> about ways in which you might continue to contribute to the research effort from a distance.
Q: I’m a student: if I were to test positive for COVID-19, would I receive financial support?
A: With in-network providers, the SMIP has a $0 deductible and a out-of-pocket maximum of $2,000 per plan year. Currently, Blue Cross NC is waiving all member cost-sharing (i.e. copayments, coinsurance) for COVID-19 related testing and treatment. For more information on COVID-19 specific measures from the BCBSNC, please visit this .
3/16/2020 Memo: All PhD Defenses must now be 100% remote
From: Shila Nordone
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2020 1:39 PM
PhD student committee meetings and final defenses must now be completely remote.
In an effort to prevent community spread of COVID-19, 51±¬ÁĎ has mandated that all PhD committee meetings and final defenses must be 100% remote – including the student who is presenting/defending and ALL committee members.
Zoom enables sharing of screens for oral presentations and group conversation. Please reference the NSOE COVID-19 website for information about Zoom training, and to stay up to date on important information.
We realize how disappointing this decision is for our research community, the life-changing moment of a final defense will be celebrated as soon as we are able to return to normal.
Please feel free to reach out to Nicolas Cassar if you have questions or concerns.
3/12/2020 Memo: Covid-19 Information for NSOE Graduate Students
From: Toddi Steelman
Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 4:08 PM
Dear Nicholas School Graduate Students:
As you know, 51±¬ÁĎ (along with many other universities) is adapting operations in response to the coronavirus. This situation has put many things into flux and we are working as quickly as possible to provide you with information and clarity as things move ahead. Amidst all of this, we are genuinely appreciative of your patience and your optimism; this is a global challenge, and we are all learning together as we go.
We are dedicated to making sure that your work and research stay secure and on track.Going forward, information related to NSOE graduate programs during this time will be updated regularly here: nicholas.duke.edu/coronavirus. 51±¬ÁĎ-wide information can be found . Please check these sites regularly to stay up to date. An NSOE message that specifically addresses research will be coming soon.
In addition, the Graduate School has set up a to answer questions specific to PhD students and they suggest that you check that site often for updates. If you have questions that are not addressed by the sites referenced in this email, please free to send them to gradschool@duke.edu.
Classes
The Nicholas School will extend its spring break for an additional week and courses will resume online on March 23. All courses going forward will be online at their regularly scheduled time. It is possible that your professor may extend classes an additional week into Reading Week, through April 22. That information will come directly from them. Please note that Fuqua, Law and Divinity will resume on March 16 online and if you are enrolled in any of their classes, you should follow their particular schedule. If you are enrolled in a course outside of 51±¬ÁĎ, it is your responsibility to check-in with the professor for any course-related updates, including time and format.
Social Distancing
To adhere to the administration’s recommendation of social distancing, access to the school will also be curtailed. This means:
- If graduate students need to access the building (GH or LSRC) for some essential purpose such as research equipment, this is permitted, but it needs to be approved by your advisor and is limited to that purpose.
- If graduate students need to meet with a faculty member, they should do so online or via a call.
- Graduate students should not use GH or LSRC to hang out, as co-working space to collaborate, or to simply use 51±¬ÁĎ Wi-Fi. Group meetings should be held virtually.
- For your safety and the safety of others, please follow the .
Dissertations/Defense
The Graduate School has relaxed its rules regarding remote attendance for PhD defenses, thus all defenses will go forward as planned, and will happen virtually. A public version of PhD defenses can thus be held, but should be done online, and the official defense of your committee can also now be completed online.
We plan to honor and celebrate your hard work with celebrations and will find opportunities for this once we are no longer under a social distancing protocol. More information to come!
Stipends
If you are a TA or an RA, your stipend will not change due to these unfortunate events and we will continue as originally planned based on your program activities.
Questions
Please check the above-mentioned websites regularly for updated information. If you cannot find the information you require, questions should be directed to:
Danielle Wiggins
Assistant Director of PhD Programs
Danielle.wiggins@duke.edu
Skype: ldwilson78
OR
Nicolas Cassar
Senior Associate Dean for Research and Doctoral Programs
nicolas.cassar@duke.edu
919-681-8865
Contact List for NSOE Graduate/PhD Students
Danielle Wiggins
Assistant Director of PhD Programs
danielle.wiggins@duke.edu
Skype: ldwilson78
Nicolas Cassar
Senior Associate Dean for Research and Doctoral Programs
Nicolas.cassar@duke.edu
919-681-8865
Updates for MEM & MF Students
4/6/2020 Memo: Student Pay
Sent: Monday 4/6/20, 11:41 AM
To: NSOE Undergraduate and Professional Students
Cc: NSOE Faculty and Staff
If you have worked in a paid position at the Nicholas School this semester, following is some important information regarding student pay.
For students who are working remotely (work study or non-work study):
- Continue submitting actual hours worked via your biweekly time card, available at .
- If you are paid via a supplement on the Nicholas School payroll, you should continue submitting the number of hours worked to your supervisor, who will approve your time and forward to Debbie Gooch (dgooch@duke.edu) in Durham or Patty Nolin (pnolin@duke.edu) at DUML, for processing.
- Students not already set up for direct deposit of their paycheck, should enroll and make sure their home address is correct at 51±¬ÁĎ@Work ().
For Federal Work Study and 51±¬ÁĎ Work Study students who are not working remotely:
- The Undergraduate Financial Aid and Student Loan Offices have calculated student payment amounts and will partner with Corporate Payroll to process these payments.
- If applicable, it is our understanding that students paid on the bi-weekly payroll should receive a payment on April 24thand on May 8th.  We expect students on the monthly payroll to receive one payment on
- April 24th.
- Students not already set up for direct deposit of their paycheck, should enroll and make sure their home address is correct at 51±¬ÁĎ@Work ().
- Students should not submit any more timecards.
For students on the biweekly payroll (and in rare cases the monthly payroll) who are not working remotely (not Federal or 51±¬ÁĎ Work Study students): 
- Students on the biweekly payroll, will have their remaining payment amount calculated and processed centrally by Corporate Payroll, based on payments made for work performed during the spring semester prior to March 15th.   If you did not work at all during the spring semester, no payments will be issued. 
- If you have been paid on the biweekly payroll and you did work this semester and thus, are eligible for these payments, it is our understanding that you should receive a payment on April 24th and on May 8th. 
- If you tracked your hours for payment on the monthly payroll and you did work this semester, and thus, are eligible for these payments, you should contact Debbie Gooch (dcgooch@duke.edu) in Durham or Patty Nolin (pnolin@duke.edu) at DUML so they may assist you.
- Students not already set up for direct deposit of their paycheck, should enroll and make sure their home address is correct at 51±¬ÁĎ@Work ().
- At this point, you should not submit any more timecards.
Professional Student Assistantships
- Students continue working their assignment remotely (if possible).
- Students continue to track and report hours worked to your supervisor.
- Students are scheduled to receive their final payment on April 24th.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Stay safe and take care –
Jeanne Ryan
Manager, HR and Administrative Services
jmryan@duke.edu
919-613-8147
3/31/2020 Memo: Summer 1&2 Options for Students // Internships
From: Toddi Steelman
Sent: Tuesday, March 31 at 1:54 p.m.
Hi all,
We know students are concerned about their summer options and this creates significant stress for you at this time. We are working hard, together with 51±¬ÁĎ Leadership, to provide guidance and support for you this summer. We wanted to take a moment to answer some questions that came up after the email from Provost Kornbluth yesterday as they apply to NSOE students.
1. Question: Are all Term 1 Summer classes cancelled?
- Answer: All in-person classes have been cancelled for Summer Term 1, but some online classes will still be offered. We hope to continue to offer our undergraduate Summer Session I courses in an online format, including those typically taught at the Marine Lab. The university is reviewing all online offerings for Term 1 and we expect them to approve most Nicholas School-sponsored classes. We will have a full list of approved online courses available to you soon.
2. Question: What does: “All other 51±¬ÁĎ-sponsored academic curricular and co-curricular programs scheduled for the entire summer must be delivered remotely or online” mean for student internships that are supported by Nicholas School funds, such as the Stanback Fellowship Program, and other internships (including Sussman, KLN, etc.)?
- Answer: For now, students should plan to participate remotely in summer internships funded, in part or in full, by 51±¬ÁĎ, including the Stanback fellowship program. The Stanback Fellowship still requires enrollment in ENVIRON 268 (undergraduate online course) or ENVIRON 895 (graduate and professional students).
At this current time, you should plan to arrange for remote participation in your internship program throughout the duration of the summer. This may require you to work with your host to adjust project outcomes and/or expectations. You should proactively be working with your internship organization. CPDC has reached out to Stanback orgs to determine remote fellowship arrangements. Reach out to CPDC for questions and assistance (careers@nicholas.duke.edu).
If travel and quarantine restrictions are lifted at some time during the summer, and your host organization allows, 51±¬ÁĎ will consider in-person participation. Funding adjustments cannot be made for any additional travel expenses.
3. Question: What if I have a question about whether my Summer Program is allowed?
- Answer: Please email Lori Bennear (lori.bennear@duke.edu) who will seek clarification for you.
Best,
Toddi
Toddi A. Steelman
Stanback Dean, Nicholas School of the Environment
51±¬ÁĎ
3/13/2020 Memo: Nicholas MEM/MF computing resources
From: Jennifer J. Swenson, PhD, Assoc. Professor of the Practice, Geospatial Analysis & Landscape Ecology
Date: Friday, March 13, 2020 at 4:49 PM
Hi all, welcome back to the new weird normal! Given the increasingly restrictive access and the desire to avoid common spaces, the use of the computer labs will need to be adjusted for a period of time. We recognize the need to retain access to these computing resources for your courses and ongoing research, work, etc.
Most broadly: there will be no physical access to the computer labs starting early next week, potentially as early as Monday (March 16).
- Students in courses that use Nicholas computer labs: We are devising a system to allow students enrolled in courses to remotely access GH 1104 lab machines from your personal laptops during class. This will be just like logging in when you are in the lab physically but your personal laptop will act as a terminal (we will circulate instructions well in advance of 3/23). We are also experimenting with different in-class communication options (Sakai, Zoom, etc. enabling TA help and sharing of technical question) during instruction. Hold tight, we’ll update you more next week.
- 2nd year MEMs needing specialized software/computing from the labs - don’t panic!—we understand that you all don’t really have an extra week of spring break because the MP symposium date hasn’t changed! Please let us know if you need software access/lab computing by —ASAP. we will be watching the survey starting today but will assess all needs this Monday 3/16.
- We will be working to identify undergraduate and PhD students who need access to the computer lab resources as well, particularly those who are doing independent studies or are nearing graduation.
Thanks for your patience and W.Y.H.!
Jennifer, John, Pat, Jesse & Pete
3/11/2020 Memo: NSOE Covid-19 Information//URGENT
From: Toddi Steelman
Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 8:09 PM
Hello MEM and MF Students -
As you know, 51±¬ÁĎ (along with many other universities) is adapting operations in response to the coronavirus. This situation has put many things into flux and we are working as quickly as possible to provide you with information and clarity as things move ahead.
Amidst all of this, we are genuinely appreciative of your patience and your optimism; this is a genuinely global challenge, and we are all learning together as we go.
Going forward, information related to MEM/MF programs during this time will be updated regularly here: nicholas.duke.edu/coronavirus. Please check in regularly to stay up to date.
This is certainly not the way I hoped to see our semester end, but we will do everything we can to create opportunities for networking within and outside of 51±¬ÁĎ to make up for these lost opportunities and to make sure that you all stay on track.
Classes
The Nicholas School will extend its spring break for an additional week and courses will resume on March 23. All courses going forward will be online at their regularly scheduled time. It is possible that your professor may extend classes an additional week into Reading Week, through April 22nd. That information will come directly from them. Please note that Fuqua, Law and Divinity will resume classes on March 16 online and if you are enrolled in any of their classes, you should follow their particular schedule.
Individual faculty members for your particular courses will be in touch with you personally regarding how to access their online course and course materials.
Masters projects
MP Seminar on 3/17 is cancelled. The following weeks (3/24 and 3/31) were to be MP presentation practice. Instead we are asking that student groups work with faculty to practice presentations individually over Zoom. Your program chair will be reaching out to you with further instruction on MP seminars.
The annual MP Symposium will be conducted virtually instead of in person. Though regrettable, this is a reality for most professional conferences this spring. You will be receiving additional information on this soon.
events
Admitted Students Visitation Weekend is cancelled. We are working on providing alternative opportunities to engage admitted students and help them virtually get to know more about the Nicholas School community. We may ask you to participate, and more announcements on this are forthcoming.
It is possible that other events will be postponed or cancelled or moved online. We will keep you posted.
building access
Access to the school will be curtailed. This means:
- If students need to access the building for some essential purpose such as research equipment, this is permitted, but it needs to be OK’d by your advisor.
- If students need to meet with a faculty member, they should do so online or via a call.
- Students should not use our school buildings to hang out, or as co-working space to meet to collaborate, or come in to use 51±¬ÁĎ wifi simply because it is better.
Contacts
Following are resources for MEM and MF students, should you have additional questions:
Academic Questions - Durham
Deb Gallagher, Associate Dean of Professional Programs
(919) 613-8138
deb.gallagher@duke.edu
Non-Academic Questions – Durham
Sherri Nevius, Associate Dean
(919) 613-8063
sherri.nevius@duke.edu
Cindy Peters, Assistant Dean
919-613-8071
petersca@duke.edu
Academic Questions – Marine Lab
Grant Murray, Co-Chair, Coastal Environmental Management Program | Coastal Environmental Management
(252) 504-7683
grant.murray@duke.edu
Residential Life – Marine Lab
Stephanie Klein, Assistant Dean, Residential Life
(252) 504-7652
stephanie.klein@duke.edu
3/11/2020: Admitted Students Visitation Weekend – Virtual Activities to Replace In-Person Events
In accordance with 51±¬ÁĎ's Coronavirus response, and out of utmost concern for your health and wellness, virtual activities will replace in-person events for the Admitted Students Weekend (ASVW) on March 27-28, 2020.
Contact List for MEM & MF Students
Academic Questions - Durham
Deb Gallagher, Associate Dean of Professional Programs
(919) 613-8138
deb.gallagher@duke.edu
Non-Academic Questions – Durham
Sherri Nevius, Associate Dean
(919) 613-8063
sherri.nevius@duke.edu
Cindy Peters, Assistant Dean
(919) 613-8071
petersca@duke.edu
Academic Questions – Marine Lab
Grant Murray, Co-Chair, Coastal Environmental Management Program
(252) 504-7683
grant.murray@duke.edu
Residential Life – Marine Lab
Stephanie Klein, Assistant Dean, Residential Life
(252) 504-7652
stephanie.klein@duke.edu
Updates for Undergraduate Students
4/6/2020 Memo – Student Pay
Sent: Monday 4/6/2020, 11:41 AM
To: NSOE Undergraduate and Professional Students
Cc: NSOE Faculty and Staff
If you have worked in a paid position at the Nicholas School this semester, following is some important information regarding student pay.
For students who are working remotely (work study or non-work study):
- Continue submitting actual hours worked via your biweekly time card, available at .
- If you are paid via a supplement on the Nicholas School payroll, you should continue submitting the number of hours worked to your supervisor, who will approve your time and forward to Debbie Gooch (dgooch@duke.edu) in Durham or Patty Nolin (pnolin@duke.edu) at DUML, for processing.
- Students not already set up for direct deposit of their paycheck, should enroll and make sure their home address is correct at 51±¬ÁĎ@Work ().
For Federal Work Study and 51±¬ÁĎ Work Study students who are not working remotely:
- The Undergraduate Financial Aid and Student Loan Offices have calculated student payment amounts and will partner with Corporate Payroll to process these payments.
- If applicable, it is our understanding that students paid on the bi-weekly payroll should receive a payment on April 24thand on May 8th.  We expect students on the monthly payroll to receive one payment on
- April 24th.
- Students not already set up for direct deposit of their paycheck, should enroll and make sure their home address is correct at 51±¬ÁĎ@Work ().
- Students should not submit any more timecards.
For students on the biweekly payroll (and in rare cases the monthly payroll) who are not working remotely (not Federal or 51±¬ÁĎ Work Study students): 
- Students on the biweekly payroll, will have their remaining payment amount calculated and processed centrally by Corporate Payroll, based on payments made for work performed during the spring semester prior to March 15th.   If you did not work at all during the spring semester, no payments will be issued. 
- If you have been paid on the biweekly payroll and you did work this semester and thus, are eligible for these payments, it is our understanding that you should receive a payment on April 24th and on May 8th. 
- If you tracked your hours for payment on the monthly payroll and you did work this semester, and thus, are eligible for these payments, you should contact Debbie Gooch (dcgooch@duke.edu) in Durham or Patty Nolin (pnolin@duke.edu) at DUML so they may assist you.
- Students not already set up for direct deposit of their paycheck, should enroll and make sure their home address is correct at 51±¬ÁĎ@Work ().
- At this point, you should not submit any more timecards.
Professional Student Assistantships
- Students continue working their assignment remotely (if possible).
- Students continue to track and report hours worked to your supervisor.
- Students are scheduled to receive their final payment on April 24th.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Stay safe and take care –
Jeanne Ryan
Manager, HR and Administrative Services
jmryan@duke.edu
919-613-8147
3/20/20 Memo – Fall 2020 advising
From: Prasad Kasibhatla, Ph.D.
Date: March 20, 2020 at 10:14:13 PM EDT
Hi all,
I hope you all are holding up well during these difficult times. If you need help with anything at all, please do reach out to us - we at the Nicholas School are here for you.
I have heard from some of you in the last couple of days, and wanted to give you an update about some important things.
NEWLY-DECLARED MAJORS
I had hoped to assign your major advisor last week, but got caught up in administrative issues related to the closure of campus and transition to online classes. I will start working on assigning major advisors on Monday, but please know that it may take a week or two for me to complete all advisor assignments. In the meantime, please arrange to meet with me during my virtual office hours next week (see OFFICE HOURS section below) to discuss Fall 2020 registration. If you are interested in the MSC concentration or spending a semester at the 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab, please contact Dr. Tom Schultz or Dr. Meagan Dunphy-Daly (both are cc'd on this email).
Please do fill out your major worksheet (as best as you can) that Bailee Starnes sent you, prior to your advising meeting.
JUNIORS
Please try to arrange a meeting with your major advisor prior to your registration window. If you have trouble contacting your major advisor, please arrange to meet with me during my virtual office hours next week (see OFFICE HOURS section below) to discuss Fall 2020 registration. If you are interested in doing the MSC concentration or interested in spending a semester at the 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab, please contact Dr. Tom Schultz or Dr. Meagan Dunphy-Daly (both are cc'd on this email). Please do fill out your major worksheet (as best as you can) that Bailee Starnes sent you, prior to your advising meeting.
SENIORS
All of you have been cleared to graduate (pending completion of this semester's courses). It may not show up such in 51±¬ÁĎ Hub yet because some clearances may be still working their way through the 51±¬ÁĎ registrar's system. This is true for students pursuing the GWD option too. But rest assured that you will all be fine in terms of graduation and GWD. If you have any questions about this, please email me or arrange to meet with me during my virtual office hours next week (see OFFICE HOURS section below).
OFFICE HOURS
I will hold office hours next week using Zoom at . You will be prompted to enter your name, and you will be placed in a 'waiting room' and I will then 'admit' you to the meeting. This protects the privacy of your meeting with me.
Please sign up for a meeting slot at:
If none of these time slots work for you, please email me with some suggested times and we will work it out.
See you all soon!
Best,
Prasad
3/19/20 Memo – Independent Study Info
From: Emily Klein, Ph.D.
Date: March 19, 2020 at 9:11:34 PM EDT
Dear Students;
I am writing to students enrolled in Independent Study course supervised by a Nicholas School faculty member.
Two days ago, we sent the following message to faculty overseeing independent study courses.
Next week, if your faculty supervisor has not already contacted you, you should email them.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, Prasad Kasibhatla, or Tom Schultz (DUSs in the Nicholas School).
Stay safe,
Emily Klein
---
Dear Colleague,
We are writing to faculty overseeing undergraduate Independent Study EOS or ENV courses (either Research or non-Research Independent Study).
As you know, 51±¬ÁĎ is committed to completing the spring semester through remote
instruction. Depending on the type of course, this may require not only a change in the mode of instruction, but also a modification of course expectations. There is a wealth of information
and suggested strategies at 51±¬ÁĎ’s Keep Teaching web site: https://keepteaching.duke.edu/
The transition to remote instruction poses particular challenges for Independent Study courses, which often involve lab- or field-based research, because undergraduates are barred from campus. The situation is undoubtedly creating huge amounts of stress and anxiety for students as they attempt to complete their coursework, especially for seniors who are expected to graduate this May.
We have received some guidance from the Trinity administration on Independent Studies. To the extent possible, they ask that we work with students to adapt the expectations for their Independent Study projects for the next 5 weeks so that they can reasonably earn full credit, even though they cannot be on campus. In fact, we are being asked to operate under the assumption that students will only be able to work online for the rest of this semester. If they can’t engage in data collection through online resources, there are a number of ways that expectations can be modified while still keeping them engaged with the research, including:
• Data analysis (assuming that they can access data remotely from outside of 51±¬ÁĎ).
• Literature reviews.
• Expanded write-up of the semester’s efforts to date.
• Participation and/or presentation at lab or other meetings though remote connections (e.g., Zoom or Skype).
At this time, the Trinity Administration has discouraged assigning Incompletes or students Withdrawing from Independent Study unless absolutely necessary.
In the coming week, please contact any student you oversee in an independent Study course, and work together to come to agreement on modified course expectations.
Thank you for being flexible and creative in working to find viable solutions for our students under very trying circumstances. Feel free to contact us or others involved in Nicholas School undergraduate programs if you have questions – we will try to get you answers.
Best,
Emily M. Klein
Prasad Kasibhatla
om Schultz
3/16/2020 Memo – Graduation with Distinction
Hi all,
We are writing to you since you are a student pursuing a Graduation with Distinction (GWD) honors thesis or are a faculty member overseeing the thesis. Since we have been asked to operate under the assumption that there will be no further on-campus academic activities this semester, we have decided on the following process to ensure successful completion of all ESP and EOS Graduation with Distinction activities:
1) Supervising faculty will work with individual students to adjust honors thesis project plans to account for disruptions caused by the suspension of campus academic activities - presumably, no major adjustments will be required because by now students should be mainly in the analysis and writing stage, rather than in the data collection stage of their projects.
2) In place of the planned April 17 on-campus GWD poster session, we will conduct 20-minute Zoom 'virtual presentation' sessions with individual students between April 17-21. Each session will involve a student, their supervisor, and one other faculty member (likely Emily Klein, Tom Schultz, Meagan Dunphy-Daly, or Prasad Kasibhatla). In this session, the student will be expected to present his/her research for 10 minutes, with the remaining time devoted to questions. Students should consult with their thesis supervisor and sign-up for a 20-minute Zoom 'virtual presentation' session time-slot at:
If one of the proposed time-slots does not work, please email us with alternate times that work for you.
3) Students should submit an electronic poster summarizing their project to the relevant DUS prior to their Zoom 'virtual presentation' session - this poster will be posted to a public-facing WordPress site to publicize student projects to a broader audience. Students should work with their supervising faculty member to design a poster that summarizes their thesis. You can find some good guidelines for designing your poster at
4) The final written thesis, signed off by the supervising faculty member, should be submitted to the relevant DUS by noon on Wed, April 22.
We hope you are coping well during these challenging times, and we appreciate your flexibility with regards to the GWD process. If you have any concerns, please feel free to reach out to us.
Best,
Emily Klein, DUS, EOS
Meagan Dunphy-Daly, Director, Rachel Carson Scholars Program
Tom Schultz, DUS, ESP (MSC concnetration)
Prasad Kasibhatla, DUS ESP
The Academic Resource Center (ARC) is available online
From: The Academic Resource Center (ARC) Team
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 12:40 PM
Dear Students,
By now, you have likely learned about the critical changes made to 51±¬ÁĎ operations. As you navigate this unprecedented situation, the staff of the wants to assure you that we are available to provide support as you adapt to this new mode of learning. Our services to you will continue in an online format and new opportunities will be introduced. We are still working through many details, but here is what we know now:
Learning Consultations
You can continue to make appointments through , and we will contact you with the logistics of how those meetings will take place. If you have a pre- existing meeting scheduled, your learning consultant will contact you directly to determine next steps. Learning consultation appointments are available immediately.
Tutoring, Study Groups, SAGE & BEAM
Our programs are scheduled to resume on Monday, March 23. During the extended break, we are working to bolster our infrastructure and train our staff to deliver services online. We will reach out with more information for participants in these programs before March 23. If you are a tutor or learning facilitator, we will be in touch with you with additional information by the end of this week.
Test Prep Workshops
Our GRE and MCAT preparation workshops will take place online. We will be reaching out to participants who have signed up for the workshops to provide additional details and logistical information.
In most cases, Zoom will be the platform we use to connect with you online so we encourage you to learn more about it on 51±¬ÁĎ’s OIT page:
Remember, we also have a great deal of useful information available on our website to help you rethink your study strategies, manage your responsibilities and stress, and complete assignments. We are developing new resources focused on learning in an online environment, and we have plans to help you organize virtual study groups. So, revisit our website often!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, concerns, or uncertainties. Spring 2020 will be memorable, but it does not have to feel impossible. We can help you make sense of the expected and unexpected changes and challenges you may experience in your academic life right now. We are still here for you.
The Academic Resource Center Team
51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab Updates
Attention Marine Lab students: Announcements in the sections above also apply to Marine Lab students. Please refer to the information for your degree program (undergraduate, MEM & MF, and graduate/PhD students).
4/27/2020: Marine Lab Update
On 4/27/20, 7:52 AM, Andrew Read, Ph.D. wrote:
Hi everyone:
I hope you are all healthy and doing well at home. It’s hard to believe that we’ve all been away from the island for over a month.
I don’t have too many concrete updates to provide, but I wanted to reach to the entire Marine Lab community and assure you that we are continuing to move forward together. We are holding community events, like today’s Monday Morning Virtual Coffee, over Zoom which have proven to be a nice way to stay connected.
on Friday.
Here is what I currently know:
- Summer Term I in-person classes have been canceled and all of these courses will be being offered online.
- A decision on Summer Term II (online or in-person) will be made this week.
- President Price has convened Team2021, a committee co-chaired by Kyle Cavanaugh and Jennifer Francis, to plan for a resumption of campus operations in Durham and Beaufort (). Dean Toddi Steelman is a part of this committee.
- Currently we do not have a date for reopening the DUML campus. We are closely monitoring updates from 51±¬ÁĎ, the Town of Beaufort, and the NC Governor’s Office.
- When we reopen DUML, we anticipate that it will be in a phased manner, the mechanics of which have yet to be determined.
- Only essential personnel are allowed on campus in either Beaufort or Durham. If you have an urgent need to retrieve something from DUML, please contact Rebecca and she will make arrangements. Kevin Smith is your point person for such requests in Durham. Please remember, if you are deemed to be essential personnel and on a 51±¬ÁĎ campus, you must follow 51±¬ÁĎ’s guideline of self-screening, wearing masks, social distancing, etc. DUML security has a supply of masks if you need one.
- Please stay informed, read your emails and attend meetings as they pop up. Main campus is leading the charge on reopening and it is important for us all to stay informed.
I hope you stay healthy and stay strong. I am looking forward to the time when we can all be together on island again.
Cheers,
Andy
From: 51±¬ÁĎ Administration
Date: Friday, April 24, 2020
This week Governor Cooper of the “stay-at-home” order for the entire state through May 8, and the City of Durham City and Durham County until May 15. Area municipalities are also allowed to create provisions that are in addition to and extend beyond the state’s May 8 order.
51±¬ÁĎ will phase in a return of faculty and staff over time in a coordinated process to ensure appropriate social distancing, availability of PPE (personal protective equipment) and testing capabilities for COVID-19. Expanded staffing will begin in more controlled areas of greatest need such as health clinics and research laboratories as early as next week.
These efforts are being tightly controlled and coordinated to mitigate potential risks and ensure the safety of faculty and staff, as well as the communities we serve. No unit or department should increase staffing levels beyond current needs to support critical on-site operations without approval from your respective dean, vice president or vice provost. Once decisions to expand on-site staffing in certain areas have been made, those areas will receive guidelines and instructions for returning to work on campus.
Our approach to staffing will need to be phased in over time and fluid as conditions change. As areas of the state and region begin to ease restrictions on activities, we may see localized spikes of COVID-19 outbreaks. Such outbreaks will increase demands on our health system and may force us to restrict on-site staffing again to only those necessary to support critical operations until the outbreaks are contained.
We continue to work closely with local, state and federal authorities as well as public health officials, including our own 51±¬ÁĎ Health experts in infectious diseases, to determine the safest approach for all members of the 51±¬ÁĎ community.
No decisions have been made yet as to activities related to the fall semester. President Price has charged with assessing options for a return of students, faculty and staff to campus. More information will be communicated regarding those plans as we assess conditions through the coming months and once decisions have been finalized.
Thank you for your ongoing flexibility and support in serving our core missions and upholding our shared values during this unique time in 51±¬ÁĎ’s history.
Sincerely,
Kyle Cavanaugh, Vice President, Administration, Co-chair Team 2021
Jennifer Francis, Executive Vice Provost, Co-chair Team 2021
3/24/2020: Proclamation from the Town of Beaufort
From: Andrew Read, Ph.D., Director of the 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 2:08 PM
Hi everyone:
In case you haven’t seen it yet, the Town of Beaufort has to Stay at Home, Limit Movement, Close Roads, and Restrict the Operation of Places of Employment. The Proclamation becomes effective tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 6:00AM.
I have attached and a that interprets the order from the Town.
You might also be interested in an opinion piece by Rachel Noble, our friend and colleague from IMS, at:
Please continue to practice social distancing and hunker down at home. We’ll all get through this if we continue to work together to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
And please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Cheers,
Andy
3/19/2020: Closure of the Marine Lab
From: Andrew Read, Ph.D., Director of the 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab
Sent: On 3/19/20, 3:10 PM
Hi everyone:
We will be closing the 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab as of 5:00 PM tomorrow, Friday, March 20th until further notice. We are taking this measure to allow all our students, staff and faculty to stay home and practice social distancing in an effort to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Block C online classes will start as scheduled on Monday, March 23rd. There will be a virtual town hall with Dean Steelman for all students tomorrow (Friday) at 10:00 AM. If you are a student (undergraduate, masters or Ph.D.) please make every attempt to attend the town hall.
After we close tomorrow, security will be stationed at the Lab entrance and only essential personnel will be allowed to access campus. Rebecca is maintaining the list of essential personnel.
If you are not on the list of essential personnel and you have an urgent need to to come to the island, please contact Rebecca (252-723-7692) or me (252-646-7133) and we will notify security.
While we are closed, FMD will be making daily rounds of the island to ensure that all of our spaces are in working order.
We have a great group of folks who are working to keep us all connected while the Lab is closed through virtual events, including seminars, MMISS and more - please watch for announcements on that front. We’ll start with virtual coffee on Monday morning - Stephanie Hillsgrove will be sending out an announcement tomorrow.
Please continue to minor the university website () for updates and look for messages from from Dean Steelman and others in your In Boxes.
These are unprecedented times and I am asking for your patience and understanding as we move forward together. We can all do our part to limit the effects of COVID-19 by staying at home and limiting our contact with others.
Stay safe and be well.
Andy
3/15/2020: COVID-19 Response at DUML
From: Andrew Read, Ph.D., Director, 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Laboratory
Sent: Sunday March 15, 2020 10:53 PM
Hi everyone:
This is just a quick note to update you on how we are responding to COVID-19 here at the Marine Lab. Because the pandemic is affecting everyone at 51±¬ÁĎ, regardless of whether they are based in Beaufort or Durham, we are following the lead of the University in terms of specific advice on classes, research, travel, events, and work.
So, please continue to pay attention to your In Box for updates, guidance and recommendation from the University and the Nicholas School.
As you know, we have extended spring break for an additional week as we make the transition to online teaching. Classes will resume (virtually) on Monday, March 23rd. Research staff, administrative staff, and graduate students should all work from home unless it is imperative that they be on campus. All meetings should be virtual. Everyone is urged to hunker down and practice social distancing.
These changes are challenging for all of us, so please look after yourself emotionally as well as physically, and let us know if you need help with your well being.
We all have questions – you can find answers at 51±¬ÁĎ’s Coronavirus Response web site: . If you have a question which is not answered on that site, please reach out to your supervisor, faculty advisor, program chair or program assistant. If your question is still unresolved, please forward it to me; the School leadership is holding daily meetings and I will endeavor to get an answer for you.
These are extraordinary times, but I am confident that our community will respond as we always have done, by pulling together and helping each other. As President Price said on Friday "we are 51±¬ÁĎ; we are a strong community; we care about each other; we’re clever and hardworking and innovative; and we’ll get through this and come out stronger on the other side.”
Be well and stay safe.
Andy
3/13/2020: DUML Residence Life Update
Here is what our plan is from a Residence Life standpoint at the Marine Lab:
Between Now - March 23rd
- You can return to the Marine Lab and gather your belongings.
- You are highly encouraged to move out during this time.
March 23 - May 1
- THIS IS NEW - Steph will work with you individually on gathering your items anytime in this time frame.
- Students must receive approval from Steph to be at the Lab during this time frame.
CDC Level 2 or 3 Warning Level
- If you are in a level 2 or level 3 CDC warning location, please do not return to the Marine lab for a minimum of 14 days. Please self-isolate at home or another location prior to returning to the Marine Lab.
Dorm 5
- A key envelope will be placed on your door with your name. Please place your key into the envelope. Bring your key to the Admin building and place in the black mailbox outside of Steph's office.
- Steph will only be placing occupancy signs on doors for the folks that cannot return to the Marine Lab by March 23.
Dining
- Dining will be closed until Monday, March 16th. At that point, the dining facility will only operate M-F, Breakfast & Lunch
Communication!!
- For the time being, instead of completing the housing registration form, please complete this quick by Friday, March 13th
- If you are unable to go home for any reason or return to the Marine Lab for any reason, please work individually with Steph.
- THIS IS NEW - If you are unable to get to the Marine Lab, Steph will work to pack up your belongings and send them to you.
- As you know, this is an unprecedented time for 51±¬ÁĎ and for the US. Your friends on Main Campus should follow all instructions from Student Affairs.
------
Stephanie Klein, M.Ed
Assistant Dean of Residence Life
51±¬ÁĎ Marine Laboratory
stephanie.klein@duke.edu
3/13/2020 Memo: IMPORTANT - Changes to Marine Lab Teaching Schedule for Blocks C & D
From: Andrew Read, Ph.D., Director, 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab
Date: Friday, March 13, 2020 at 9:50 AM
Dear Marine Lab Students:
As you all know, Spring Break has been extended for a week and classes will resume on March 23rd.
So, to accommodate the truncation of Block C, we are making the following modification to our teaching schedule here at the Marine Lab:
Block C: Monday March 23 - Friday April 10
Block D: Monday, April 13 - Friday, May 1
The exact schedule of each online class will be determined by the instructor.
You will have the opportunity to drop/add in the first 48 hours after the beginning of each block - please contact Gwendy if you would like to make changes to your schedule.
We know that this is a very stressful time and we appreciate your understanding as we move forward together into this uncharted territory.
If you have questions regarding your specific classes, please reach out to your instructors via e-mail. If you have more general questions, feel free to direct them to me.
You can find a lot of useful information specific to the Marine Lab and Nicholas School here: /coronavirus and more general information from 51±¬ÁĎ at:
3/13/2020: PhD Exit Seminars – Live Streaming Link & Info
From: Jeffery Priddy
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2020 at 12:08 PM
One more thing-- if you went to the streaming link early, and got the message saying there was no live content, that page may be stuck in your browser’s cache.
I’ve started a live stream (from our new webcam), if you go to the link and still get the message about no live content, force your browser to (in Chrome, this is Ctrl-F5, or hold Ctrl and click reload).
---------
From: Lisa Campbell, Ph.D., Rachel Carson Professor
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2020 9:41 AM
Subject: [Everyone-ML] Anastasia Quintana public lecture
Hi all,
We have a new way to view public talks, which will be live streamed here.
Tasha’s PhD defense will be available, and that live stream can accommodate more viewers.
There will also be a Panopto recording (both live and recorded), here:
Try the first stream first, as Panopto is the one likely to fail with too many viewers.
3/12/2020 Memo: DUML Dining Hall Hours of Operation
From: Gilbert Mason, Coordinator DUML Campus Services
Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 2:19 PM
Good Afternoon DUML Community,
In light of the decision to suspend classes and move to online instruction hence removing our primary customers from campus, your friendly DUML Dining Hall will be operating with abbreviated hours until students return to the Marine Lab. The Dining Hall will be closing as planned after lunch today and will remain closed through Sunday, March 15. When the Dining Hall reopens on Monday, March 16 they will be serving breakfast (7:45 – 9:00) & lunch (11:45 – 1:00) only Monday – Friday for the foreseeable future.
The Dining Hall appreciates your continued patronage and support. Please come by and join us for breakfast or lunch someday next week.
3/11/2020 Memo: Seminar today is postponed but will be available via Panopto
From: Andrew Read, Ph.D., Director, 51±¬ÁĎ Marine Lab
Date: March 11, 2020 at 10:41:39 AM EDT
Hi everyone:
Following conversations with 51±¬ÁĎ leadership today, we are going to cancel the in-person seminar series until further notice. We will, however, be live streaming the many upcoming PhD exit seminars scheduled over the next couple of weeks.
The first of these seminars is scheduled for today, with Sarah Bess Jones Zigler presenting her research on marine protected areas in Rapa Nui, Chile. Because Panopto will be overwhelmed if everyone tries to login to watch the live stream at 12:30, and because Sarah Bess’s extended family is planning to do just that, we kindly ask you to watch the presentation later, when the recording is available, via than watching it live.
We are working on an alternative live streaming capacity for Tasha’s seminar later this week and others scheduled later in the term. We’ll send out a notice about that soon.
And, because these seminars are an important celebration of the great research conducted by our Ph.D. students, we would like to hold a mini-symposium when the COVID-19 situation abates, so that we can hear from, and celebrate with, our Ph.D. graduates in person. More to come on that later.
Updates for Staff
3/26/20 Memo: Durham Stay at Home Order // Effective Thursday 6 p.m.
From: Toddi A. Steelman, Stanback Dean, Nicholas School of the Environment
Date: March 25, 2020 at 6:24 p.m.
Dear NSOE Faculty & Staff:
As you likely know at this point, due to the Coronavirus, the city of Durham has enacted a stay-at-home order effective Thursday, March 26, at 6 pm.
51±¬ÁĎ administration has said that that this city-wide order supersedes all other 51±¬ÁĎ policies and applies to all 51±¬ÁĎ citizens, including faculty, staff and students, with specific exemptions for healthcare workers.
Please adhere to the following:
- Individuals who are maintaining critical research laboratory functions may continue to do so provided they observe safety guidelines.
- Access to offices and classrooms, however, for the purposes of teaching online classes, is no longer permitted.
- If you feel you need to come in for a critical reason, speak to your department chair.
- Though you may live in a different city that does not currently have stay-at-home order in place, access to campus is still restricted since it is within the city.
I know these are frustrating and confusing times, and I applaud all that you have done in adapting to the many changes.
Stay safe!
Toddi
3/11/2020 Memo: NSOE Covid-19 Response
From: Charlotte Nunez-Wolff, Ed.D.
Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 8:25 PM
Dear Nicholas School Staff,
As a follow up to , we wanted to provide additional information and guidance for Nicholas School employees. Also, attached you will find correspondence Toddi has sent to our faculty and professional students.
As noted in the President’s email, the University will suspend in-class learning and move to online classes for the foreseeable future. This action will allow for the social distancing that is recommended in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Even with these changes, the University and the Nicholas School remain open and our operations will continue.
As you know, we are in unprecedented territory and ask for your patience and cooperation going forward. Toddi and I want to thank everyone who has responded to the call to action so far. Your positivity, ingenuity and tenacity are greatly appreciated. We will need more of it as we move forward.
We understand that our employees may wish to avoid working in the office and prefer to work remotely. At NSOE, we support managers in implementing flexible work arrangements if particular jobs allow, as long as all regular duties continue to be performed from home and continuity of service is maintained. Working from home includes abiding by and . 51±¬ÁĎ has developed a "" that includes information, resources and links to communication and productivity tools that can assist you and your staff in considering and setting up a remote working arrangement. All alternate work situations should be discussed and approved in advance with your supervisor. Questions about this process and best practices should be sent to Jeanne Ryan.
Regardless of whether you work in the office or telecommute, you should take time now to . Our IT staff have found that this is the most effective user-friendly technology for virtual meetings and conferences. Many of us are using it in Nicholas already. Having Zoom readily available on your computer will allow you to connect with others who may be working away from the office.
with answers to managers and employee’s concerns about being sick, working from home, pay if quarantined, etc. We encourage you to review all the information that has been made available.
Other pertinent operational details to note from President’s Price’s email are:
- Our on-campus events that were to occur through April 20th are cancelled. Some will be rescheduled and others will move to a virtual format such as our important Admitted Students Visitation Day. Kudos to all of you, including many in Student Services and Communications who are rallying to continue to recruit the new professional student class in the face of this change. For events after April 20th, we will await guidance from the University before making a call.
- Non-essential 51±¬ÁĎ-sponsored travel is suspended immediately and indefinitely. There is a process for exceptions to be granted by the Dean, but these requests must be truly exceptional to be considered.
- Our buildings will remain open without card access during regular business hours and mail will continue to be delivered.
Most important of all, take care of yourself and your family! This is a stressful time for all of us and just a few minutes of watching the news can be exhausting. Remember, 51±¬ÁĎ’s confidential employee counseling resource is available: .
Should you feel sick or have a fever (100.4°+), remain home and rest, not telecommute, until you are free of fever for more than 24 hours, and notify your manager regarding your absence from work.
Toddi will host a virtual town hall Q&A next week and the exact date and time will be sent soon. In the meantime, all of the Nicholas School communications with our various audiences as well as our guidelines can be found here (nicholas.duke.edu/coronavirus). If you have additional questions, please contact me or Jeanne Ryan.
Wishing you all happy and healthy days ahead!
Charlotte
Contact List for Staff
Charlotte Nunez-Wolff, Ed.D.
Sr. Associate Dean for Administration & Finance
(919) 684-1433
cnunez@duke.edu
Jeanne Ryan
Assistant Dean for HR and Administrative Services
(919) 613-8147
jmryan@duke.edu
Alumni Updates
3/13/2020 Memo: Message to Alumni regarding NSOE events
Dear Nicholas School Alumni and Friends,
As we confront the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide, 51±¬ÁĎ has announced a series of measures the university is taking to minimize health and safety risks to students, faculty, staff and the broader community. You can ; ongoing updates for the 51±¬ÁĎ community about COVID-19 are available on the .
The measures outlined by President Price include canceling or postponing 51±¬ÁĎ-sponsored gatherings both on campus and off campus between now and May 7 (updated 3/13). In accordance with this policy and out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of our community, we will unfortunately have to cancel the following events:
- Nicholas School Reunion, scheduled for April 17, is postponed until further notice.
- 51±¬ÁĎ Forest Pine Cone Pacer, scheduled for April 18 is cancelled. If you would like to , please complete a request by Friday, March 20th, 2020.
- The status for all 51±¬ÁĎ regional events after May 7 is still being determined. We will notify you when this is known or you can check the for updates.
Please also be reminded to cancel your hotel reservations as soon as possible. To read the hotel's cancellation policy, please refer to the room reservation confirmation sent to you by the hotel.
Thank you for your understanding and your support as we confront this unprecedented public health challenge. We hope that you and your families are well, and please know that as important members of our community, we are thinking of you through these trying circumstances.
With warm regards,

Kevin McCarthy
Associate Dean, Development and Alumni Relations
51±¬ÁĎ Community Updates
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
For the latest updates, visit 51±¬ÁĎ's Coronavirus Response website: