Well, happy Friday, everyone. This is the last Friday of the summer, believe it or not. Welcome to this week's Fireside Chat. I'm Lisa Sturz.
I'm here with our Senior Vice President, Tim Cross, who's back with us this week. We will be updating you today on the latest information regarding COVID-19 cases within the university, and we'll be sharing an update on some other news happening within the institute. A couple of reminders. Mute your audio.
Make sure that everybody can hear everyone else. Use the chat function on Zoom to ask any questions. You can publicly post your question in the chat, or you can send it to me privately. A recording of this session is always made and posted to the UTIA coronavirus website, and you can find a link to you on our homepage at utia.tennessee.edu.
So, Tim, it actually looks like we're seeing some improvement with our case counts. Will you give us some details? Well, thank you, Lisa, and really good to be back with everyone. Let me start this week, first of all, by saying a hearty thank you to Dave White, also.
Associate Dean White did a great job last week from the feedback I received, and I really appreciate him stepping in, in my absence, and providing some updates to you and then also sharing some of his experiences at the Emergency Operations Center. So thank you very much, Dave. And, Lisa, thanks for the lead-in here. It does seem like things are getting better.
Now, as we speak, I am knocking on wood that we're not going to jinx ourselves and head us back in a bad direction, but things are looking more positive than they have for the past several weeks, and that's good news, certainly. Let me just touch really briefly on some of the data points that we've been reporting weekly and let you know why I'm thinking things are looking better. First of all, in terms of our positive cases, we're currently seeing about 14 positive cases among employees, and that includes the Institute of Agriculture and the University of Tennessee Knoxville as a whole. So for our faculty and staff, a total of 14 positive cases across campus and across the state, and that's certainly 14 more than we want, but it's still a very good number and very low.
The student numbers have really decreased since a week ago. We're down to 398 currently active positive cases among students. So that's good news as well. And clearly, more than a couple weeks have passed since students returned.
Hopefully, we're seeing some even greater adherence to social requirements and guidelines, and students do a better job, I think, of taking care of themselves, keeping themselves healthy. So positive cases down in both areas there. In terms of self-isolations, we currently have 107 employees, faculty and staff, in self-isolation, and that includes those positive cases, by the way. And we have 1,433 students in self-isolation.
That student number is also significantly decreased from a week ago, and so we like to see that number as well. That means the number of students that were in isolation no longer are, and the majority of those obviously did not test positive even among those who were in isolation. So great progress there. So what does that really mean in terms of the institute, sort of narrowing it down from the total university to the Institute of Agriculture?
We have six positive cases among UTIA employees, faculty, and staff. And, again, that's across the entire institute, both on campus and across the state. We have 10 additional employees who are in self-isolation, the majority of those, because they've had a reported direct contact with a positive case. A small number of those with asymptomatic, you know, currently exhibiting symptoms, consistent with COVID-19 but not necessarily knowing the results of a test yet.
So six positive cases, 10 employees in self-isolation. Again, very low numbers, and much like we've seen the last six to eight weeks, really no change there of any significance. Across the country, I'm sure you've been hearing in the news, as I have, that nationally the number of cases is down. The number of daily new cases, the average number of new cases, is now averaging about 40,000 cases per day, which is a lot of people, way too many.
But compared to the 60,000 per day that we were seeing in July and August, that's also a significant improvement. And here in Tennessee, we're actually probably much the same as we've been the last several weeks, at about 1,200 to 1,300 new cases per day. So we're unchanged. It's really not a significant improvement, but it's certainly not anything worse than what we've seen in the previous several weeks.
So all in all, I see some positive trends there. And we're going to hope that by following these practices that we know will make such a difference, we'll continue to decrease the numbers and continue to flatten the curve. So with no real changes to our guidelines, we thought we might shift gears today. COVID has obviously grabbed headlines in recent months, but there have been some other significant events and happenings within the institute.
So would you mind giving us some highlights? Yeah, I thought it might be good to share just a few points of interest for the group that really indicate some things that are happening institute-wide, if you will. So let's just talk about a few of these things. And this is by no means comprehensive, and it is just a few, again, of the highlights or points of information that I thought folks across the entire state and across the entire campus might be interested in.
So first, we'll start with a couple of searches that are active. We've got several searches at any point in time, but right now a couple of leadership positions that are actively being sought. First, the dean for the UT Extension position. That search is active.
As you've seen, the committee is appointed, and they're actively meeting. Just a reminder that that search is underway, and I really appreciate the group that's working on that. So we're seeing progress there. And the overall goal for that search is that we will have a new dean named, perhaps not in place, but at least named, by the end of this calendar year.
So thanks to Dr. Hongwei Shan and Dr. Paula Beal for co-chairing that search, and they've got a great group of folks working with them. So I'm looking forward to continued progress on that search.
Another search that I thought you might be interested in is this position right here. And I didn't have a good graphic for the position, but I thought it might be helpful just to look at the overall context for this position as well. I've communicated previously that we are going to appoint a director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It'll be the first time that our institute has had such a position.
And this position is actually to be announced any day. The search committee for it is in place as well. And that one's being co-chaired by Dr. Dave White and Dr.
Sharon John-Pelipe. So I appreciate them. The way this position is structured, it will actually be reporting to our three agricultural deans, if you want to think about it that way. So it'll be a person that has responsibilities in the Herbert College, Ag Research, and UT Extension.
But it also will have a connection to Dr. Tybee Small, who's the vice chancellor of diversity engagement for the UT Knoxville entire campus. And so we'll keep connected between the institute and the UT Knoxville campus with all of our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The new director, once he or she is appointed, will also chair our UTIA Diversity Council, which will include faculty, staff, and student council champions from all units of UTIA.
And that will include members from the College of Veterinary Medicine. Our College of Veterinary Medicine already has a position that is similar to this director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. That would be Dr. Michael Jones.
So this position, this new position, will focus on the agricultural components of our programs. But we'll link in to the diversity council members of all the units of our institute, including the College of Veterinary Medicine. So I thought that might be helpful for you to know that and to know the plans that we have there. And that search, again, that position should be announced any day now.
And we'll try to move that along this fall as well so that we've got someone in place later this fall. A couple or at least one capital projects highlight. I think most of you know that we're in the process of building what we call a surge building, which is going to house all the faculty and staff that are currently in Ellington Plant Sciences building. And then Ellington Plant Sciences will be torn down and we'll build the new energy and environmental science building starting hopefully just after the first of the year.
We've got a few shots here just to show you that new surge building. And this is as of yesterday, so they're very new, but maybe not the best photographs. I've never claimed to be a photographer. But it's nice to take a walk down there and see this building really starting to take shape.
This is the front end of the building that you're seeing here. This is from along the side of the building. I think I've got another shot more from the back side of that building. So as you can see, it's a very nice facility.
It's coming along well and it's slated to be open and complete shortly after the first of the year. So we look forward to that coming online and that will enable us then to start taking the next steps towards our new science building here on campus. Good progress there. Related to capital projects, this is a shot of the Brim Animal Science Arena.
And what we are in the midst of in the Brim Arena is actually removing and have removed the dirt floor that has been in the arena, which in this photograph I believe is covered with our removable mats. And we're going to replace all of that with a permanent pervious surface that will work for both humans and for livestock. So we'll still be able to do livestock events in here, but we'll have a really good surface that is suitable for events such as we had set up here. And the idea is that we can make use of Brim in the future when Hollingsworth Auditorium is taken offline and demolished as part of the overall Alington project.
So we've got the dirt removed from the Brim Animal Science Arena. We're ready to put the new flooring in. We've got to do some ADA accommodations because of the fact that the depth of the floor changed. But we're on track to really make some improvements here in Brim Animal Science Arena that will give us a nice face even after Hollingsworth is taken offline.
So thanks to Neil Schrick and the Department of Animal Science for working on this and all of these projects Steve Loppenhine, Joe Cagle, and our facilities group really works very well with, and we appreciate their efforts there. A few final highlights relate to people. And I thought I'd share with you some recent appointments, some of whom have started and some who will start sometime between now and the first of the year. One I'll mention on the far left of your screen, Dr.
Rob Williams will be coming in as our department head for the Department of Food Science. He's coming to us from Virginia Tech. He'll start shortly after the first of the year. So we're looking forward to Dr.
Williams joining us in that role. Next, Dr. Scott Stewart will be starting as our director of the West Tennessee Ag Research and Education Center in Jackson. Dr.
Stewart, I believe, is going to take on that role October 1, transitioning from Dr. Bob Hayes, who will be retiring. So, Dr. Stewart, congratulations, and we're looking forward to working with you in that role.
Next, Mr. Rob Holland, you've seen, has been appointed as an interim assistant dean for ag programs in UT Extension. Rob is following in the footsteps of Dr. Mike Bushmole.
Rob and Mike will both be transitioning over the next several months, but Rob really taking the lead role starting now to lead our ag programs work in UT Extension. And then finally, Dr. India Lane has been appointed associate dean in College of Veterinary Medicine, following in the great footsteps of Dr. Claudia Kirk.
So she'll be working closely with our students, academics, in the College of Veterinary Medicine. So congratulations to Dr. Lane as well. So those are just a few very brief highlights and areas that I thought each of you might have some interest in that you might not know as much about.
So try to use our time wisely and, you know, keep you up to date on activities within the institute. Clearly, there's still a lot of excellent programming going on as well, and we'll like to highlight some of those excellent programs, projects, and activities in future fireside chats too. So, Lisa, that's it for sort of broad-level UTIA updates. And if we've got any questions, please take those.
I do have one question related to the surge building. And the question is, how in that space will we keep staff isolated? So I think we'll do it in that space just like we're doing it in all spaces, and that is any place we can't maintain a six-foot distance, we'll either look to use some temporary plexiglass barriers or we'll rotate staff such that we don't have, you know, people in there simultaneously that have to be within close proximity. And a lot of folks say, well, gosh, we need to completely redesign that building and take a whole new approach to it.
Maybe for purposes of COVID, that would be ideal. But remember, this building is being built for the long term, and we do want to make the best of it for the next 30, 40, or 50 years, not just for the next three, six, 12 months while we're in the midst of COVID. So I think we'll make short-term accommodations in that building just as we have all of our others, and then we'll be in a position to utilize it fully when we're out of the midst of this pandemic. So, great question.
Well, unless anyone else has a question, it looks like it's going to go down on the record as the shortest fireside jet we've held. I see a lot of celebrating on that note. You know, a lot of folks are excited about that. So maybe I ought to ask a question.
I'd love to ask this group. How are you doing? How are you feeling? Are you doing okay in your positions, your roles?
It's hard to answer that question in a chat like this. I will give a little preview that we're going to be doing a survey again soon to check in with each of you, just to make sure if there's things that you need or challenges that you're facing that you don't feel good about, that you let us know so that we stay in touch with you. So I would like to ask you that personally right now, but just be aware there will be an opportunity soon. In the meantime, I hope you know that if there are things in the very short term that need to be attended to that, from your perspective, aren't, please let us know.
We want to make sure you've got a great, safe, and productive environment to work and to accomplish your responsibilities. We want to support you any way we can. Well, if no one else is, Sonia is doing great, so that's good to hear. Thank you, Sonia.
We do have one other question. Someone asked, we were told that the vaccine requirements would be reviewed today. Is that the case? Well, I don't recall a specific review date, nor do I recall exactly what that review might entail.
So there's a couple different dimensions of vaccines. One is that the Board of Trustees has approved a policy that all employees and all students will receive a flu vaccination this fall. But remember, they also approved two exemptions to that requirement, that if you have a health condition that prevents it, or you have a faith-based reason why you should not receive that vaccine, that you'll be able to opt out of the vaccine for either of those two purposes. So as far as the flu vaccine goes, that's pretty solid in place, I would say.
And obviously, one of the things we're waiting on is availability of the flu vaccine. And I think most recommend getting that vaccine in early fall, which maybe is almost upon us. So you don't want to get it too early or else it loses effectiveness over the flu season. On the other hand, you don't want to wait too long or else you may contract the flu before you ever get the vaccine.
The second component of the vaccine that I think folks are talking about a lot, obviously, is a vaccine for COVID-19. There's a lot of discussion, a lot of talk about that, about availability, about distribution, about priorities for who would receive any COVID-19 vaccine and when. I'm not in a good position to have any great detailed information about that other than to say, you know, I am one. Just my personal beliefs are that vaccines are useful.
And I think we should certainly each evaluate what's in our own best health interests and do what's best for us. When that vaccine becomes available, we'll certainly, I think. rely upon science to tell us if it's safe, if it's effective, and then act accordingly with regard to getting that vaccination. My crystal ball isn't any better than yours as to when that might be, but obviously there are a lot of efforts being put into bringing forth the vaccine for the coronavirus as soon as possible.
It will certainly stay on top of that, and when there is such a vaccine, if there's opportunities to make that widely available, we'd certainly contribute to that. So you actually answered a question that was asked about that, but the person did also ask would it be a requirement to get the vaccine if it was widely available? I don't think that has been absolutely determined at this point. You know, at this point we said we really want everyone get the flu vaccine, and obviously that's to keep the background issues of flu hopefully separate from coronavirus because some of those symptoms do look similar, but at this point with no vaccine available, it's really hard to make specific policies about the coronavirus vaccine, so I'll keep you informed on that as I hear conversation or more specifics, certainly provide an update in this chat and otherwise.
That sounds great. Well, it looks like those are all of our questions, so do you have some final remarks? Yeah, I think, you know, a couple of things, and I see a couple of chats here going on as well. I mentioned the flu vaccine.
While we're going to require the vaccine, let me also make sure I'm clear we're not going to provide it because what we do provide is health insurance, and so everyone will take care of their flu vaccination themselves, and then there will be a reporting process to enable you to report if you've had the vaccine or if you've opted out for one of those reasons that I mentioned previously. So if you're thinking, well, you know, when's the university going to get me this vaccine? We're not. We're going to get you the health insurance that in turn enables you to get the vaccine, either from a pharmacy, from your primary care physician, from a health clinic, however you may choose to do that.
Let me wrap up then by saying, you know, we continue to really do very well in the Institute. I continue to get very positive feedback across all of our major program areas. I hear good things from students about their classroom experiences and about their online experiences. I hear good things from our veterinary students and our veterinary clients about their education, about the treatment they're receiving, so that's always been very positive throughout this pandemic.
I've seen some very good positive reports about some research awards in the last several weeks, so clearly we're seeing a lot of very positive work going on there, and UT Extension continues to offer some very effective programming, both online and in person throughout this pandemic, and that positive feedback gets back to me as well. I don't do a good job of letting you know how much people recognize and appreciate the work you do, but they do, and I want to just take a moment this afternoon to say I thank you for that as well. You're each going above and beyond to accomplish things in the midst of really challenging circumstances and situations. I don't know about you, it is starting to feel a little bit more normal.
I actually, the other day, walked out of the house feeling naked because I didn't have my mask on, so you know, maybe this is starting to become more of our everyday lives, and that's a good thing to some extent because I think if we can make the most of this situation, continue to do things that enable us to educate and research, reach out and help communities, that's what we're here for, that's what folks are counting on, and thankfully you've all been doing that, and that positions the Institute very well, so I really wanted to say thanks. Hang in there. You're doing a great job. We're making good progress.
I feel like the Institute remains on a very positive trajectory thanks to your hard work. Well, great. Well, that's all we have, so everyone have a wonderful weekend.