Healthy Restart FAQs Answered Sept. 28 for UK Faculty, Staff and Students

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 28, 2020) — With University of Kentucky now offering in-session classes again, the university continues to field questions related to specific elements of the campus restart plan. Listed below are answers to some of the questions most commonly asked by university faculty and staff.

Q: What changes have been made to the holiday schedule for the 2020-21 academic year?

A: Campus staff working on the Labor Day holiday may take the holiday later, up through Dec. 31, 2020, to accommodate the compressed academic calendar necessary for the COVID-19 response.

And we will, for the first time, observe Juneteenth as an annual holiday in commemoration of when the final enslaved Black men and women were freed in 1865. (Juneteenth is on June 19 each year; for UK, we will observe the holiday on Friday, June 18, 2021, because the holiday falls on a weekend).

Q: How has COVID-19 impacted UK's hiring process?

A: UK has paused hiring throughout the campus. This includes faculty and staff, administrative, full-time and part-time, as well as STEPS positions. It does not apply to student employment.

Read President Eli Capilouto's full campus message here. 

Phase I and II testing of students by Wild Health ended Aug. 30. As of Sept. 27, UK is reporting 409 current active cases and 1,447 recovered cases among students. As of Sept. 24, 32,269 tests have been conducted with students, including 1,400 positive tests and 30,858 negative tests. For information on testing results, visit: www.uky.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-data-dashboard.

For more information related to University of Kentucky's COVID-19 response and restart plan, visit www.uky.edu/coronavirus/, including more FAQs at www.uky.edu/coronavirus/employees/employee-faqs.

Each day UK will be providing some of the most frequently asked questions from students, faculty and staff and answering them as we start the new semester. If you have questions you would like to see answered, please email coronavirus@uky.edu. We will continue to answer those on an individual basis, but may also include them in UKNow. Thanks and stay safe and healthy.