COVID-19 Response Team
University Initiatives & Policy managed the COVID-19 Response Team (CRT) as part of the University’s Incident Command System (ICS). CRT reported up to the ICS Incident Commander and was charged with assessing and developing solutions for COVID-19-related challenges. Members included faculty, staff, and leaders from across campus.
CRT managed the following items:
- Review and approval process for various COVID-19 mitigation efforts
- Student and employee focus groups regarding COVID-19 outreach and communications
- Events and Gatherings Committee, including the review of all proposed events and gatherings, as well as the development of event planning guidance
- Face covering exception request process
- Committees tasked with addressing the unique needs of students returning from breaks, including the Thanksgiving 2020 Transition Committee and the January 2021 Re-Entry Committee
- Club Sports and Intramural Review Committee
- Greek Life Committee
- Guidance for summer camps
- Guidance for in-person openings of visitor spaces
- Employee Testing Working Group
Celina Ramirez, Vice President of University Initiatives & Policy (Chair)
Mona Arora, Principal Research Specialist, Community Environment & Policy
Nina Bates, Director of Operations and Strategic Initiatives, Provost's Office
Alex Blandeburgo, Executive Director of Housing & Residential Life
Jason Brei, Assistant Chief University of Arizona Police
Tina Deemer, Director of Academic and Support Services in Mathematics
Miguel Delgado, Chief Risk Officer
Kacey Ernst, Professor of Public Health
Amy Glicken, Senior Project Director, University Initiatives & Policy
Bruce Grissom, Administrative Manager, Dean of Students
Chad Herzog, Executive Director of Arizona Arts Live
Jane Hunter, Vice President of Strategic Initiative
Julie Katsel, Senior Director of Local & Community Relations
Chris Kopach, ICS Commander and Assistance Vice President of Facilities Management
Stacey Lemos, Assistant Vice President and Comptroller
Chante Martin, Assistance Vice President of Human Resources
Sarah Meadows, Associate General Counsel
Cody Nicholls, Assistant Dean of Students
Bruce Overland, Director of Facilities Management Maintenance Services
Danielle Oxnam, Executive Associate, University Initiatives & Policy
Kristen Pogreba-Brown, Assistant Professor of Public Health
Alex Robie Harris, Senior Project Director, University Initiatives & Policy
Luis Rocha, Director of Facilities Management Operations
David Salafsky, Interim Executive Director of Campus Health Service
Jim Sayre, Executive Director of Parking and Transportation
Lori Schultz, Assistant Vice President of Research Intelligence
Lane Spalla, Emergency Management Coordinator, UAPD
Rob Stephan, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Alex Underwood, Registrar
Lori Van Buggenum, Project Director, University Initiatives & Policy
Derek van der Merwe, Assistant Vice President & COO of Athletics
Sabrina Vazquez, Assistant Vice President, Phoenix & State Relations
COVID-19 Vaccine Incentives
From Summer 2021 - Spring 2022, University Initiatives & Policy managed the Vaccine Incentive program for both students and employees of the University of Arizona. Students and employees who voluntarily uploaded their vaccine document were automatically entered for a chance to receive a number of exciting incentives. Vaccine uploads allowed the University to better gauge the vaccination rate of our campus community and encourage the good public health practice of getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
Student incentives included: $500 tuition scholarships, ZonaZoo memberships, BookStore scholarships, Campus Rec fitness passes, parking permit, dorm rent credits, and more.
Employee incentives included: Football tickets, private viewings of basketball practices, Arizona Arts Live tickets, Campus Rec semester memberships, and more.
Additionally, every fully vaccinated student who uploaded their vaccine record was given two Star Rewards - a $10 value - that could be redeemed at selected vendors at the Arizona Student Unions or BookStores.
COVID-19 Testing Incentives
From Spring 2021 - Spring 2022, University Initiatives & Policy partnered with the Student Unions and BookStores to promote regular student testing for COVID-19 on campus through the Star Rewards Program. All University of Arizona students could earn Star Rewards for completing COVID tests on campus and uploading their vaccination record. Students can redeem them at the Student Unions and BookStores (select vendors).
Resources
COVID-19 Dashboard
In collaboration with key partners from University Analytics & Institutional Research (Jenn Schilling), Information Technology (Gary Windham), and the Data Science Institute (Nirav Merchant), University Initiatives & Policy launched the COVID-19 Dashboard in Fall 2020.
Earning an A rating from We Rate COVID Dashboards, the COVID-19 Dashboard was updated daily from August 4, 2020 through July 1, 2023 with critical campus metrics, including the following:
- Vaccine dose administration by the UArizona Vaccine Point of Distribution (POD)
- On-campus testing results from Test All Test Smart and Campus Health
- Rt values, a measurement of COVID-19 spread rate
- Isolation dorm capacity
In addition to the public facing dashboard, a Daily Briefing report was produced for University Senior Leaders and members of the campus COVID-19 teams.
The dashboard will be maintained on the Campus Health website through July 1, 2024 for historical data purposes.
Resources
Project Contact
Amy Glicken, aglicken@arizona.edu