Orange County NC Website
Emails show faculty, health officials expressed concern over UNC-Chapel Hill's COVID-19 plan before August reopening - ABC11 Raleigh-Durham <br />https://abc11.com/unc-covid-nc-coronavirus/7029408/[10/19/20, 3:46:34 PM] <br />May. <br />Emails exchanged between the Orange County Medical <br />Director Erica Pettigrew and Kenneth Pittman, UNC <br />Director of Campus Health, in late May show the two <br />had spoken through Zoom. At the time, dorms were <br />already identified for quarantining students, some staff <br />members were trained on contact tracing and officials <br />were evaluating the use of rapid tests. <br />JUNE <br />When the 'Roadmap for Fall 2020' was presented to <br />faculty it sparked some concern. <br />"That announcement caught us by surprise because <br />most faculty had not been privy to any of the <br />conversations that had taken place before that," said <br />Dr. Jay Smith, a UNC history professor and vice <br />president of the local American Association of <br />University Professors chapter. <br />Faculty in the Institute for Arts and Humanity wrote in <br />one email on May 22: "The current plan puts the value <br />of human life to the side, subordinating public health <br />to a robust influx of revenue and accepting without <br />note that the University plan will certainly cause the <br />spread of COVID19 and death." <br />In early June, many top faculty had questions and <br />conveyed a lack of transparency and collaboration in <br />the development of plans, according to emails. <br />"Many faculty are asking why the University has not <br />announced a plan for regularly testing students, staff <br />and faculty," Dr. Lloyd Kramer, former chair of the