Executive Dean's Message - March 2020
Dear colleagues,
It’s hard to believe how much the world has changed in only a few weeks, and to digest the very significant effect that this is already having on our community in UQ’s Faculty of Science.
Recent changes have impacted teaching delivery, travel, meetings and events, and how we interact with one another. I acknowledge that this has been very challenging for many of us. Despite this, I have been overwhelmed by the positive, can-do approach of all of our staff as we pivot to new ways of working. As per my video, I thank you all for making this transition in such a collegial way.
We have also been made acutely aware of the importance of ‘social distancing’ as we go about our daily lives, ensuring that we maintain a minimum of 1.5m between people and 4m2 per person in a confined space to minimize the spread of the virus responsible for COVID-19. Of course, one of the downsides of all of this, is the reduced sense of community that comes from our daily interactions, meeting for a coffee, celebrating birthdays etc. I am however seeing some creativity in this space, with virtual morning teas and celebrations happening via Zoom!
In preparing for a range of possible futures arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, we have established teams in each of our schools, each of our campuses and in the Faculty, to identify what needs to be done to ensure we can continue critical teaching, research and operations in the event that there is a change in access to our campuses or there is an increase in absenteeism.
This work has identified a number of issues which we are addressing through local planning, and – where required – escalation to faculty or university leadership. This ensures we have solutions ASAP. Outcomes to date include detailed plans to ensure we can continue to undertake teaching and research, closure of our two marine research stations and working at home arrangements. Thank you to the hundreds of staff who have contributed to this. If you have any input or concerns that we should be aware of, please let your supervisor or school manager know.
In terms of communications, we are putting together an update every day and sending it to our Heads of School and our Senior Professional Leaders to share with all of you. We are trying to minimise duplication, whilst ensuring that all the changes are being communicated as quickly as possible. This is actually surprisingly difficult, but we are continuing to do our best. If you have any questions please start with the UQ FAQ page or ask you supervisor.
Amongst all of the above there has been some good news. On Sunday 22 March the Premier of Queensland announced $17m of additional funding to support the Coronavirus vaccine project led by Paul Young in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences. The funding comes from a combination of State Government ($10m), Federal government ($3m), Ramsay Foundation ($3.5m) and A2 Milk ($0.5m). Following the news of public and private funding of $17m for the Covid-19 Vaccine, we received an outpouring of gifts from the UQ community. Congratulations Paul and team!
Over the past few days we have also received over 900 donations totalling $170,500 from the general public. The Year 5 students at St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School continue to warm our hearts with their very entrepreneurial ‘Helping for Hundreds’ fundraising campaign. It is catching on outside of Queensland as well, with letters and – most recently – a very touching $6.55 coin jar donation courtesy of a 7 year old from Victoria just last night. Here are more details about the appeal to raise $6.5m to complete the vaccine funding.
I would also like to congratulate Mike Bell and Scott Chapman in the School of Agriculture and Food Science for each contributing to attracting separate multi-million dollar research grants from the Grains Research and Development Corporation. Well done!
Kind regards,
Professor Melissa Brown
Executive Dean