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

Dear Faculty and Staff:

As shared in President Hemphill’s message sent yesterday evening to all students, faculty, and staff, all non-essential travel to domestic and international locations will not be permitted now through April 17, 2020. Faculty and staff should proceed in cancelling travel arrangements that are in place and/or pending. This travel restriction will be re-evaluated, and a follow-up communication will be provided at a later date. It is important to note that the appropriate vice president has been authorized to determine what is considered essential travel and guidelines within their area.

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to have a global impact, many national professional conferences and meetings originally scheduled to be held this spring have been cancelled. In most cases, the conference or event hosts are offering a full refund of the registration cost. Hotels have also been willing to offer cancellations without penalty. In situations where conferences or meetings have not been officially cancelled, the employee should make every effort to obtain a refund for conference registration and any other pre-paid expenses, whether that is a full/partial refund, credit towards online conference attendance, etc.

Airfare is another pre-paid expense of concern. Fortunately through the University’s partnership with Christopherson Business Travel (CBT), we have been keeping abreast of how the airlines are managing the vast number of questions. At this time, three major airlines (United, American, and Delta) are waiving any change fees related to airfare that was booked prior to March 1, 2020 for travel that would occur by April 17, 2020. The unused airfare can be rebooked no later than December 31, 2020 with a travel date that is no later than your original booking date. Please proceed with cancelling airfare that was booked prior to March 1, 2020 for travel that would occur by April 17, 2020. Below is a screen shot that shows how to cancel your airfare in CBT. In addition, impacted Chrome River preapprovals and eVA purchase requisitions should be closed as necessary.

As these changes are rapidly evolving, please wait to cancel any airfare occurring after April 17, 2020. Please contact Brad Foster, Accounts Payable Supervisor at bcfoster@radford.edu or at 540-831-7614 with questions regarding airfare and all Chrome River cancellations and disencumbrances.


Sincerely,

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