Note: This message was updated August 29 to clarify current guidance on indoor masking.
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back! As we celebrate the beginning of the new academic year, we look forward to the joy and energy of more than 12,000 new students joining us on campus for the first time.
They join us because of the quality of the courses you teach, the excellence of the research in which you engage, and your superb artistic and clinical accomplishments. We believe that the education you deliver is essential to aid the development of the next generation of informed, creative leaders.
This Fall, I invite us to recommit to the centrality of community. We seek and embrace a range of viewpoints because they expand our knowledge and our understanding of the world. I look forward to vibrant, exciting, respectful activity on campus this semester. As part of that, we announced a new Student Commitment, to be published in this year’s Student Handbook, which encourages our students to live in alignment with our Unifying Values.
Some other updates that you should be aware of as the semester begins anew:
- COVID-19 is still with us and, through its mutations, is likely to be with us for a long time. We continue to align with guidance from the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Indoor masking is required in some settings including health care, during outbreaks and after exposures. It is strongly recommended in other indoor settings. Voluntary masking is fully supported.
- We have a refreshed FAQ to provide some guidance as you navigate the semester.
- You’ll note we have updated the Provost’s office website to continue to highlight your exceptional work, host important messages sent from my office to the community, and provide a central point from which you can access important campus resources.
- Student Health has created a faculty resource for student mental health that we believe could be helpful to you.
- Digital Accessibility continues to be a significant form of academic accommodation; please see the memo I sent last week.
- Soon, you’ll be receiving an important update on the student code of conduct which addresses academic integrity and accountability.
- Please note that Veterans Day, November 11, 2022, is a non-instructional day.
- Also recall that we continue to pursue our sustainability efforts, including through the elimination of single use plastics.
Colleagues, I am looking forward to this year with much excitement. What will we discover? What conversations will challenge us? Who will we inspire?
I wish you all the best for an engaging and productive semester. Thank you for all the work you do to advance our common academic goals and thank you for the many ways you go above and beyond to serve our university. Please know that you can always reach out to my office at uscprovost@usc.edu if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Charles F. Zukoski
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
cc: Office of the President
Academic Deans
President’s Senior Leadership Team
Provost’s Leadership Team
Academic Senate
Staff Assembly
GSG President
USG President