(COVID-19): Campus Health Updates

4/6/2020 - Daily COVID-19 Graduate Division Update

Happy Monday everyone,

We don’t have a huge update today. Apparently, the rain kept away the news. Hopefully, you all got to jump in a few puddles today or cuddle up on the couch under a blanket. As for me, my home office is a closet (literally) with no windows, and so for a brief moment I thought we had a rat infestation on the roof, but no it was just raindrops.

A few things to draw your attention to as we continue to respond to this new normal. Please attend to issues of accessibility in your research, teaching, and correspondence.

Accessibility During COVID-19

In Accessibility Suffers During Pandemic, Inside Higher Ed describes how students with disabilities and their advocates worry about access to equitable education. Our Disability Services Center has been working around the clock to ensure our students have appropriate access. Please reach out to them if you need help, can volunteer to help others, or have questions.

Microsoft also published an interesting article, What the disability community can teach us about working remotely, in which they describe working with and learning from their employees and by continuing to prioritize accessibility in these shifting circumstances. Microsoft has been a leader in inclusive hiring and work practices. It is nice to see them continuing to do s

Division of Career Pathways Services Update

Please note that DCP will continue to offer one-on-one career counseling appointments through both Zoom and phone as well as “virtual office hours” on Wednesdays from 1-3 to temporarily replace in-person drop in times. All of these appointments can be scheduled directly through Handshake. If students are unable to find a session that meets their needs or schedule, please email career@uci.edu.

Online resources to provide students with career support:

Handshake– Comprehensive online career services platform in which students can search for and apply to jobs and internships, register for DCP events, schedule career counseling appointments, and much more.
Virtual career counseling appointments – Offered through both Zoom (video and chat) and phone - Student can sign up through Handshake.
Virtual Resume Reviews– Offered through VMock, this online system enables students to upload a PDF version of their resume and receive feedback in real time 24 hours a day (Note – it does not review CVs, students should schedule career counseling appointments for CV reviews).
Big Interview– Online system that helps students prepare for interviews through instructional videos, extensive question library, and virtual mock interviewing. Please see attached flyer for Academic Interviewing Assignment.
Webinars - All of our normally scheduled workshops, including those reserved for graduate students only, are now offered through Zoom. Please see attached promotional flyer.
Micro-Internships– Students can land opportunities to build valuable work experience through micro-internships (short-term, paid, project-based assignments that are similar to those given to interns).

Graduate-Specific Online Resources:

ImaginePhD- online career exploration and planning tool for PhD students and postdoctoral scholars (open access)
Versatile PhD – offers first-hand advice about nonacademic careers for STEM PhDs (currently open to those with a UCI email address)

Travel, Childcare, and Other Emergency Funding

AGS has emergency travel funding available: https://www.ags.uci.edu/services/travel/
DTEI has emergency laptop loans available for students: https://sites.uci.edu/learnanywhere/student-laptop-loan-program/
We have some additional emergency technical supports (e.g., Ethernet dongles to plug into wall rather than WiFi, hotspot loans), and will have a survey out very soon to request these resources.
Childcare and other emergency funds are being examined, and we hope to have information to share soon. These are more complicated than I wish, so I thank you for your patience. As a reminder for UC travelers, the Central Travel Office and Risk Services will host an encore Q&A on COVID-19 and Travel on April 9th at 11AM.
Campus Local Amendment to Policy G28
Travel reimbursement questions: travel-accounting@uci.edu

Subscribe to COVID-19 Updates from UC

The University of California posts the latest breaking news developments on COVID-19 across the University of California system on its website. Sign up for alerts to receive the latest updates to your inbox. Executive Vice President of UC Health Dr. Carrie Byington provides regular updates and links to important and interesting articles on COVID-19, University of California, and health systems in general on Twitter @carrie_byington.

Come Visit GD:

Dean’s Virtual Office Hours: https://uci.zoom.us/j/7277477057.

Tuesday, April 7: 11am – 11:30am
Wednesday, April 8: 3pm – 3:30pm
Thursday, April 9: 8:30am – 9am
Friday, April 10: 3:30pm – 4pm
Monday, April 13: 2:30pm – 3pm
Tuesday, April 14: Noon – 12:30pm
Wednesday, April 15: 11:30am – Noon
Thursday, April 16: 9am – 9:30am
Friday, April 17: 3:00pm – 3:30pm

Virtual Yoga and Meditation

Virtual yoga and meditation class on Wednesday, April 8th from 10:30 am -11:30 am. The class will be live-streamed on UCI Graduate Division's Instagram page (@ucirvinegd) and facilitated by graduate counselor and yoga instructor Phong Luong.

UCI IN THE NEWS - COVID-19 Article List

The New York Times, April 6, 2020 (Opinion)

Opinion: The Next Virus Bill

Associated Press, April 6, 2020
Coronavirus patients rush to join studies of Gilead drug

NBC News, April 6, 2020

Government watchdog: Hospitals face severe shortages of medical gear, confusing guidance from government

ABC News, April 6, 2020
Some cash-strapped states turn to election security funds to fight COVID-19

Orange County Business Journal, April 6, 2020
Tech is Great, but Avoid Online Addiction

Forbes, April 6, 2020
Coming: A New Appreciation For The Social Benefits Of Graduate Education

The Guardian, April 6, 2020
What an Iranian film about a leper colony can teach us about coronavirus

NBC News, April 4, 2020
‘Hard for helpers, too’: Faced with their own coronavirus fears, crisis hotline counselors answer surge in calls

Orange County Register, April 4, 2020
O.C. sold 100,000 medical-grade coronavirus masks, citing expiration dates