The UNC Faculty Welfare Committee discussed the state of COVID-19 in North Carolina and child care options for UNC employees in a meeting Monday morning.
What’s new?
- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States is once again on the rise and is predicted to reach a second peak in about eight weeks, pediatric genetics and metabolism professor Muge Gucsavas-Calikoglu said.
- Gucsavas-Calikoglu said death rates have been holding steady as treatment has improved.
- She also said that according to a UNC Health survey, more than half of North Carolina consumers are not planning on getting a COVID-19 vaccine when it is initially distributed due to concerns of rushed testing.
- Some elderly COVID-19 patients have reported continued symptoms of fatigue after being discharged from the hospital — and while extremely rare, it is possible to be reinfected with COVID-19, she said.
- “We’re just in the baby steps of understanding its impact on the body,” she said.
- Members of the committee discussed child care for UNC employees and how it can be improved both during the pandemic and beyond.
- Suchi Mohanty, head of the Undergraduate Library, said there have been efforts to reinstate the Chancellor’s Child Care Advisory Committee at UNC.
- “There seems to be some momentum building for re-establishing a committee, maybe not identical to what the old committee was, but maybe a new committee with a focus on what the current needs are,” Linc Butler, the associate vice chancellor of human resources, said.
- “The University and faculty benefit to have access to good, quality child care,” Gucsavas-Calikoglu said.
- The committee stressed the need to focus on inclusivity as it advocates for expanded child care for UNC employees.
- “I think it’s really important that we consider this in an inclusive way, so looking at staff and student child care needs as well,” Mohanty said.
What does the committee do?
- “The committee monitors and works toward the improvement of faculty working conditions, including salaries and benefits,” according to the UNC Faculty Code.
Who is on the committee?
- The committee itself consists of seven professors and one administrator, as well as two non-voting consultants from the administration.
- Members are appointed by the chairperson of the faculty.
What’s next?
- The Faculty Welfare Committee will meet on Nov. 16 to discuss proposed changes to promotion and tenure policies.
