Updated 3.17.20:
As of Wednesday, March 18, the Community Engagement Centers’ hours will be limited to only those during currently scheduled activities that are deemed essential.
We are changing our operations to help protect the health and wellbeing of all those who interact with the CECs. These plans may change as more University directions and public health guidance become available. Many of our CEC staff will be working remotely and can be contacted by phone, email, and social media.
As we shift our practices, we are reminded that the Community Engagement Centers are more than a physical space. The staff of the CECs help us to collaborate and partner in creative ways. We invite you to think creatively with us as we adjust in these next few weeks until we can physically gather again. Please don’t hesitate to contact Daren Ellerbee, Kirk Holbrook, or Lina Dostilio with questions, comments, or ideas.
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Posted 3.12.20
We are writing with an update regarding the University of Pittsburgh’s response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which has been named a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The University has been monitoring and preparing for the spread of this outbreak since January, working to exercise caution without causing undue disruption to normal operations. You can read more about the response here.
As of now until further notice, the Community Engagement Centers will not be able to host events with 25 people or more in attendance. The reason for this decision is to help maintain the safety of participants across the community. The welfare of those who interact with and in the CEC space is always at the top of our priorities, and it is important that we take the appropriate precautions to help limit the spread and potential effect of the virus.
We acknowledge that this disruption is not ideal. A lot of time, effort and thought go into planning and scheduling programming and to have to implement this limitation is challenging. The CECs are shared spaces and we hope to continue offering a collaborative environment while still maintaining an appropriate level of safety.
CEC Director’s Daren Ellerbee (Homewood) and Kirk Holbrook (Hill District) will stay in close contact with all of our community partners to help mitigate the inconvenience of this situation as much as possible. As this unique situation evolves, there may be extra steps that are communicated.