What’s new in parking and transportation
Parking & Transportation is working to ensure that all faculty, staff and students who need to travel to the Danforth Campus will have access to on-campus parking. This includes adding capacity for an expected increase in the number of off-campus students by repurposing much of the visitor parking throughout the core of campus, and other options to support those who will need to travel to campus less frequently. Additional options or revisions to current permit offerings will be communicated the week of Aug. 17. Until then, the recommendation is to purchase a permit only if you know that you will need one for the fall term. “Open-park” operations will continue through Sept. 4.
Shuttles will resume operations Aug. 24. Capacity will be limited to 50% occupancy and slight delays will be built into the schedule to allow for frequent cleaning. Further changes to support fall shuttle operations will be announced in the coming weeks.
Learn more on the Parking & Transportation website.
Helping employees care for children and families
As schools announce plans for the fall and employees navigate the challenges of caring for family and children while working, we are aware of the pressures and stressors people face. Are you looking for child care resources? Find support to help you balance work and family life. View the family care hub on the Human Resources website for more details.
Crisis Response Fund to open for students
The Crisis Response Fund will open for applications from Washington University undergraduate, graduate and professional students on Sept. 1, 2020. Expenses for unexpected emergency costs in the following categories will be eligible for support: housing, utilities, groceries, medicine and unreimbursed co-pays for physical or mental health services. All students will receive an email notification with additional details and instructions on how to apply when the Fund opens.
The Tech Den
Because all WashU students are now required to have a laptop that meets or exceeds the minimum laptop specifications for their class or school, the Tech Den has been established to address any technological needs or concerns a student might have. Why a laptop? Because it’s important to be able to take classwork mobile, from a classroom to the library to home online learning.
Rethinking the daily commute
As WashU gets ready to reopen, faculty, staff and students will also be reassessing the manner in which they travel to and from campus. When making the decision regarding your daily commute, the Office of Sustainability is inviting everyone to not only consider personal health and safety, but also the community at large.
Why? Solo driving may seem like the safest option in the short term, but personal vehicles are a huge contributor to air pollution — which in turn has been linked to increased COVID-19 deaths due to its strain on the respiratory system. Alternative transportation options — including carpooling, biking and public transportation — are ways you can commute and move around while preventing the worsening of our air quality.
With that in mind, a downloadable form, “Tips for Commuting Safely During the COVID-19 Pandemic”, has been produced as a go-to resource in commuter decision making. More information about each specific alternative transportation option is available on Sustainability’s Alternative Transportation web page.
WashU responds through research
Among the innovative COVID-19 research projects taking place on the Danforth Campus, researchers from the McKelvey School of Engineering have modeled the interplay between the duration and intensity of physical distancing, helping us all learn how to do it better. … Using statistical models, researchers at Olin Business School discovered that the rate in which COVID-19 cases spread was not proportionate, as first assumed. … In Arts & Sciences, the lab of Gary Patti in the Department of Chemistry has received grants totaling $1.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in support of research on metabolic pathways and their connection with diseases like COVID-19. … And this week, the Institute for Public Health, which has researchers from both the Danforth and Medical Campuses, announced it will partner with the St. Louis County Health Department to help survey 5,000 residents to help gauge the impact of the illness locally.
Urban spaces and the pandemic
The pandemic is reshaping the ways we think about urban spaces, and students in the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts are helping lead the way. This summer. Students are participating in a 13-week program to study and work in major cities around the world, including St. Louis. Read more about the innovative program.