How UCR created a successful COVID-19 testing program

When UC Riverside began discussing the creation of a COVID-19 testing program a year ago, the campus had no lab, no existing system, and no certainty about when students and employees could return safely. Several months after the launch of the program, the campus is planning a fall return and is celebrating a continued drop in positive coronavirus...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus return updates for May 5

UC Riverside has created five campus working groups to plan for the fall and the transition to returning to campus. See below for the latest updates from the working groups: Research Ramp-up A recording of the Research Ramp-up group's May 3 return to campus briefing is available on the UCR YouTube channel. COVID Management The vaccines subcommittee...

By University Relations |

FAQ on UC's proposed COVID-19 vaccination policy

The University of California last week shared the details of a proposed policy on COVID-19 vaccination as part of its engagement with its community as it joins the California State University in supporting immunizations as part of an expected return of students, faculty, academic appointees and staff to in-person instruction across the state this...

By University Communications |

Return to campus working group briefings begin this week

Each of the Return to Campus working groups will deliver a briefing for the campus community about their planning efforts for the fall. The briefings, which will consist of comments by select working group members followed by answers to pre-submitted questions, will be available for viewing on the UC Riverside YouTube channel. The campus community...

By University Communications |

Campus return updates for April 7

UC Riverside has created five campus working groups to plan for the fall and the transition to returning to campus. See below for the latest updates from the working groups: COVID Management Students Now Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine All UC Riverside students are now eligible to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine under eligibility criteria announced by...

By University Relations |

Campus return updates for March 31

UC Riverside has created five campus working groups to plan for the fall and the transition to returning to campus. See below for the latest updates from the working groups: Research Ramp-Up Undergraduate students at UC Riverside will again have the opportunity to conduct laboratory research on campus — invaluable educational experience that COVID...

By University Relations |

CNAS lecture series returns with focus on COVID-19 response

An upcoming lecture series will spotlight the role researchers at the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, or CNAS, are playing in response to COVID-19, from testing to vaccine development and more. The college’s annual science lecture series is titled "COVID Conversations: How the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences at UC Riverside...

By Imran Ghori |

Review paper links air pollution to COVID-19 susceptibility

Coauthors include School of Medicine biomedical scientist Changcheng Zhou

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

UCR creates new COVID cleaning crew

UC Riverside has created a new team of Facilities Services employees specializing in cleaning campus areas that have potentially been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19. The team, made up of 15 custodial and housekeeping employees who volunteered for the task, attended training sessions starting in January, completing the last one in early...

By Imran Ghori |

New Pandemic Relief for Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) Participants

Please note that the “blackout period” described in the March 8, 2021 scotmemo – New Pandemic Relief for Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) Participants, a pplies to claims for expenses incurred in the 2020 plan year only. During the transition of data from the Wage Works system to the Discovery Benefits/Wex system occurring from April 16 to no...

By Human Resources |

Looking back at a year of the pandemic

A year has passed since the pandemic changed life at UC Riverside. Here is a look at what’s happened on campus. Photos by Stan Lim, UCR photography manager.

By University Communications |

Keeping the campus safe and clean

New equipment, changing schedules, and enhanced cleaning protocols — these are some of the ways the daily routines of UC Riverside Facilities Services staff members have been altered over the past year. The department, which includes custodial, landscaping, and maintenance services, has had many of its employees continuing to work on campus from...

By Imran Ghori |

New campaign to raise money for employee emergency fund

UC Riverside has started a crowdfunding campaign for a program providing financial assistance to employees facing hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic. The campaign, organized by the Office of Annual Giving, has a fundraising goal of $100,000 for the Employee Emergency Fund, and has met more than half its goal with almost $58,000 raised so far...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus is well prepared to store COVID-19 vaccines

The University of California, Riverside, expects to receive a shipment of 400 Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses on Wednesday, Jan. 20. An initial shipment of 100 Moderna vaccines was delivered to Student Health Services earlier this month in order to begin inoculating frontline health care staff. The Moderna vaccine needs to be stored between -13...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

UCR vaccinates frontline health care workers for COVID-19

UC Riverside has vaccinated 100 frontline health care workers at Student Health Services for the virus that causes COVID-19 in the first on-campus vaccine distribution. Student Health Services applied through Riverside County six weeks earlier to inoculate its workers and was notified Jan. 7 that it would receive a shipment of 100 doses of the...

By Imran Ghori |

COVID-19 drive-thru testing site to open on campus

UC Riverside employees and students will be able to get tested for the coronavirus at no cost to them at a drive-thru site on a campus lot starting Thursday, Dec. 17. The testing program is a result of a partnership between UCR and the city of Riverside, which has opened two other drive-thru locations, a downtown kiosk, and a mobile testing van...

By Imran Ghori |

COVID-19 exposure app available to UCR students and employees

A pilot smartphone-based program that provides notification of COVID-19 exposure is now available to UC Riverside students and employees. UCR began participating in the Exposure Notification System app, which is available as a feature on iPhones and an app on Android devices, Monday, Nov. 16. The system allows users to be notified if they have...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus COVID-19 lab expands capacity

UC Riverside’s COVID-19 laboratory has added more space and staff as testing on campus continues to ramp up. About two months after opening, the diagnostic lab has increased its capacity as part of the campus’s regular coronavirus testing of students in residence halls. “We’re always trying to streamline and make the process faster,” said Kathy...

By Imran Ghori |

Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production faculty reel in awards

Some faculty and staff were recognized for their lifetime achievements, others for efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six staff members recognized The Citizens University Committee kicked off its fall scholarship fundraiser by recognizing the contributions of six staff members: Alan A. Call, technical director; Alif Emil Marchi, lighting and...

By Sandra Baltazar Martinez |

On the COVID-19 frontline

William Rall, senior administrative director of Student Health Services, or SHS, at UC Riverside, arrived on campus in August 2020 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Rall, who has 16 years of health care experience at UC Irvine Health and Kaiser Permanente, began his new role with no first-hand knowledge of SHS operations before the...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |