Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are well as we begin the summer semester and look ahead to the next academic year.

On April 1, I sent all faculty an email that outlined the plan for the return to a normal residential semester in the Fall 2021. According to this plan, all faculty, including those who are teaching remotely, are expected to be on campus for normal in-person attendance at University and departmental meetings and events. I write now to offer additional details regarding exceptions to this residency requirement, and in particular to specify the process for requesting a medical exception. (Please note that this exception is entirely separate from the process for requesting an exemption from the University’s vaccination requirements. For more information about the vaccination policy, please review this letter.)

Residency Exceptions: Exceptions to the residency requirement will be granted to faculty who have a medical condition that prevents them from being on campus. It is important to note that faculty members with residency exceptions are not on leave and will be expected to continue to fulfill advising and service responsibilities, and to participate in departmental and University business, remotely if necessary.

Medical Exception Process: To protect sensitive medical information, Brown retains an external vendor to facilitate the review of requests for medical exceptions from the residency requirement.  Broadspire, the company that already assesses accommodation requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for Brown faculty and staff, will handle the medical exception process as well. Information on Broadspire can be found here.

To request a medical exception, please call Broadspire directly at 1-888-599-8576. Broadspire will require documentation of your medical condition, which will be kept confidential. If Broadspire determines that your condition requires that you avoid campus, your Dean will confirm in writing that you may participate remotely in on-campus activities during the semester. To provide sufficient time to review requests for accommodations and plan for the fall semester, all requests must be submitted to Broadspire as soon as possible, and no later than June 30th, 2021.  We will of course make exceptions for medical conditions that arise after July 1. 

The implications for residency of the policy on COVID relief to assistant professors that was announced on March 18, 2021 remain in effect.

Thank you.

Regards,

Richard M. Locke
Provost