Message from the Chancellor
Dear students, faculty and staff,
As we carefully monitor the resurgence of COVID-19 in Chicago and Illinois we want to encourage you to stay the course with continued diligence to help curb the spread of this disease.
Our UIC community has embraced daily adjustments to wear a mask, wash hands often, and practice physical distancing while participating in health checks and contact tracing on campus. Your individual efforts are working and our 7-day rolling average positivity rate of our surveillance testing remains low, at approximately 0.5%.
On-campus saliva testing
We continue to offer free on-campus COVID-19 saliva testing as an important tool to protect the campus community. We continue to increase testing capacity, and as a result, we recently added walk-in availability on a first-come, first-served basis, in addition to testing appointments that may be scheduled online in advance. The saliva test can help us identify individuals with COVID-19 who do not have symptoms to prevent further transmission. For additional information on scheduling a saliva test, campus testing locations, who should/should not be tested, and contact tracing information, visit the UIC Saliva Testing webpage.
Flu vaccines
As COVID-19 continues to trend upward, getting a flu shot is more important than ever this year because it will help protect you and those close to you from the seasonal flu. It will also help to reduce the burden on health care systems that are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including our own academic health enterprise, UI Health. Please visit the UIC Flu Vaccine webpage for complete information, vaccination locations, and to schedule your appointment.
The University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics and some other UI Health units have mandatory vaccine requirements which have been communicated to relevant individuals.
If you are learning or working from home or are a retiree and you do not plan to be on campus during this period, we encourage you to obtain your flu shot from your personal healthcare provider, local pharmacy or a city or county health department clinic.
Commencement and Spring 2021 academic calendar
The December commencement will be held virtually due to the pandemic, while information about Spring 2021 commencement will be announced at a later date. We remain committed to a large in-person celebration for all recent graduates when the conditions allow such an event to take place.
The Spring 2021 semester will begin as scheduled on Jan. 11 with the majority of classes being held online. Spring vacation will take place as scheduled March 22-26, with final exams May 3-7.
Once again, thank you for your cooperation and determination to #ShowYouCare. Stay involved, stay informed and stay safe!
Sincerely,
Michael D. Amiridis
Chancellor
