COVID-19 Law School Update

To the Law School Community:

Earlier today, you received an update from President Gabel on the University of Minnesota’s efforts to keep our students, staff, and faculty healthy and safe with the current COVID-19 public health concern.

As President Gabel notes in her message, the University has canceled classes and extended Spring Break for this coming Monday and Tuesday, March 16 and 17. Accordingly, law courses will resume on Wednesday, March 18, with instruction moving online. Remote instruction will continue for a minimum of two weeks. The University will reassess whether to resume in-person instruction, or extend online courses, and we will keep you informed as soon as those decisions are made.

To be clear, the Law School and the University are not “closing.” Our academic program will resume in full on March 18, albeit temporarily at a physical remove, with core support services and business operations continuing. Classes will continue to meet at their appointed time and on their appointed days using various modes of engagement (video-conferencing via Zoom or Google Hangouts, tele-conference style calls via Zoom, etc.) Faculty should contact students to make plans for virtual instruction plans (including any changes in readings or other assignments) once they have been determined.

If you are unfamiliar with Zoom (a tool that will likely be heavily used in many courses), we are offering training and support. The Law School’s Emergency Preparedness site contains resources and step-by-step instructions for Zoom.

Additionally, faculty and staff can attend the following in-person trainings. The training will also be recorded.

Specific online training is linked below:

You can also check out Zoom help from UMN IT. Additional questions can also be directed toward law-tech@umn.edu.

We are encouraging all to practice social distancing at this time and not gather, unless necessary, at the Law School. With respect to staff, decisions about working remotely if that is viable for your position should be made in consultation with your supervisor. Of course under all circumstances, please stay home if you are ill in order to protect yourself and other people.

Finally, we have received many questions about upcoming events being hosted at the school. Student organization events should not be held on campus, and students are encouraged to explore remote meeting options or postpone. Should other events be canceled, an announcement will be made.

I have every confidence that our faculty—with the support of our staff—will succeed in transitioning through this difficult moment. That being said, there will be challenges and bumps along the way. We don’t pretend to have all the answers yet to the many questions before us. Thank you for your patience and your willingness to come together (metaphorically) at this time.

Please continue to make safe and healthy choices around hygiene–and not just for your own benefit, but for everyone. Be well. Wash your hands. We are all in this together!

In gratitude,

Garry W. Jenkins
Dean & William S. Pattee Professor of Law
University of Minnesota Law School

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