Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Dear Merage School Community,
All levels of the University of California are continuing to monitor the COVID-19 issue on a continual basis. Here at the Merage School we are regularly assessing the facts, reacting and planning appropriately to ensure the safety, health and well-being of our community as we continue to deliver a high quality educational experience for all.
I assure you that your concerns regarding “what happens next” are directly addressed in our discussions. At this time, we continue to assess potential challenges and make plans for necessary modifications regarding instructional delivery and support, event management, and more should they become necessary.
What is clear today is that, at the direction of UCI, and based on information from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control, cautions regarding business and personal travel should be followed. To that end, we have canceled three pending student international residentials (two FEMBA and one undergraduate) in areas where concerns have risen to the level warranting such action. Program offices are addressing travel insurance and refund/reimbursement opportunities with their respective students.
Travel advisories have also prompted a number of prominent national and international guest speakers to cancel planned trips to UCI. As a result, the CDT’s Road to Reinvention conference planned for March 12th has been postponed.
Please continue to watch for communications from appropriate parties (such as UCI central administration to all, program offices to students, or our senior associate dean to faculty, senior managers to staff) regarding further steps or decisions to be taken. I’ve asked Diane Sagey to provide a central clearinghouse for communications; a website with FAQ is forthcoming. If you have questions, please address them to Diane at dsagey@uci.edu so she can respond and post accordingly to the FAQ for all to read.
Thank you for helping us to respond to this challenge that we hope will be behind us much sooner than later.
Best,
Eric R. Spangenberg, PhD
Dean, UCI Paul Merage School of Business