Message to Students, Faculty, and Staff from Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer Chad A. Reed

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

Thank you for your on-going commitment during this complicated time. We have received many questions from employees about their options in response to COVID-19, especially following last Friday’s announcement by Governor Northam regarding the closure of all K-12 schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia for a minimum of two weeks and the possibility of the virus spreading more broadly across the state.

We know this is a complex situation to manage, and we care deeply about our employees and their families. Please know that we are committed to your health and safety and that of your family. While we acknowledge that not all jobs are able to be performed from another location, we encourage all supervisors to be as flexible as possible. Alternate work options, such as teleworking, should be considered and openly discussed to perform special projects, policy and procedural reviews, or completion of mandatory training requirements.

In an effort to address telework-related questions, a website has been created to share information related to effective remote work readiness, staying connected using Zoom, and general guidelines for employees and supervisors. For latest information, please visit https://www.radford.edu/content/human-resources/home/keep-working.html. In addition to the information available at the Keep Working webpage, employees are encouraged to take advantage of other resources, such as the Employee Assistance Program, especially if they are struggling with anxiety or stress.

As a reminder, any employee who is ill should go home immediately and seek appropriate medical attention. Also, according to the Governor’s state of emergency declaration, two weeks of additional paid leave, formally referred to as Public Health Emergency Leave, is available to employees directed to self-quarantine by a qualified health care provider; exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19, or with an immediate family member diagnosed with the disease. This leave, however, cannot be used for child care and does not apply to student workers or nine-month teaching and research faculty, both of which do not accrue and/or take leave.

We recognize that you may still have questions. And, we are working to answer them all as soon as we can. Please continue to visit the University’s COVID-19 webpage for the latest information and regular updates. We thank you again for your diligent work and incredible patience during this difficult time!


Sincerely,

Chad A. Reed
Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer