PROVIDENCE – In a significant effort to achieve high COVID-19 vaccination levels on campus, Brown University announced Thursday that all employees at the Ivy League institution must be vaccinated by no later than July 1.
While many local colleges have required students – Brown being among them – and simply encouraged faculty and staff to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, Brown is the first such local college to require its employees, both those working on campus and working remotely, to be vaccinated by the middle of the summer.
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Brown spokesperson Brian Clark told PBN employees who choose to not receive the vaccine and do not qualify for an exemption will have their status reviewed and acted on by Brown’s provost office or human resources office.
“In cases where the requirements of a position do not allow for an unvaccinated person to safely perform the requirements of their position on campus with a reasonable accommodation, and no opportunities for transfer to another position exist, the employee will have the option to be placed on leave without pay, apply for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, or take paid time off,” Clark said.
Brown University has 4,709 total employees, according to data the university provided to PBN.
In a letter to the campus community, Brown President Christina H. Paxson wrote that the university’s priority should be to achieve “near-universal levels of vaccination, about 90% or higher, based on discussions with Brown’s public and medical experts.
“People who are vaccinated are much less likely to get COVID-19. They are also less likely to become seriously ill or spread the illness to others if they do contract the virus,” Paxson said. “For these reasons, the sooner we can achieve near-universal vaccination, the sooner we’ll be able to lift public health restrictions on campus and return to a more normal environment for teaching and research, with full confidence that the health of the community is being protected.”
In addition to staff, all students who will be engaged in on-campus activities this summer must receive their second vaccination shot by July 1, the university said Thursday.
Paxson also acknowledged that the July 1 timeframe for students who are engaged in on-campus activities in the summer is accelerated, but said the earlier deadline is now achievable given the wide accessibility of vaccines in the state. Like other colleges and universities, Brown will allow for medical and religious exemptions for the requirement.
Brown is also requiring students and employees by July 1 to upload their vaccination cards onto online portals overseen at the university, Paxson said. Employees must upload their cards to Workday, while students must upload their cards to the Health and Wellness Portal.
Clark also said that Brown in June will have a follow-up vaccine clinic on campus and will offer shuttle service to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center for Brown community members to get vaccinated.
It is unclear what the university’s Faculty Executive Committee’s position was on the vaccine mandate for employees. Committee Chairperson Johanna M. Hanink, an associate professor of classics at Brown, did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
