Dear Colleague

As we continue to face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of staff at the University have now moved to working from home.  I would like to thank you for your patience, co-operation and professionalism as we transition to this new way of working and hope that you are finding the process manageable.

I fully appreciate the challenges that many of you are now facing in terms of working from home, whilst at the same time caring for children or family members and those most vulnerable in our wider community.  These are unprecedented times and I understand that given the additional responsibilities many of you now face, it simply cannot, nor should it be business as usual in terms of your workload.  Your health and wellbeing are paramount, so please stay in touch with your line manager and let them know about the pressures that you may be experiencing in order that we can best support you.  Our colleagues in People and Culture have developed guidance to support working from home and this will be shared in due course.

There are, of course, some colleagues who continue to work on campus to carry out essential roles.  My sincere thanks to them for their continuing commitment to our students, university and wider society.  Among them are Queen's researchers who are supporting global efforts to understand COVID-19 and help fight the disease.  I am extremely proud of their efforts, and those of all staff, during this extermely difficult time.

The sense of Queen's community that I have experienced over these past few weeks has been an enormous source of strength to me personally and I trust to many of you also.  It is important that we maintain that sense of community and continue to support one another in these challenging circumstances.

Best wishes,

Ian

Professor Ian Greer
President and Vice-Chancellor