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Oct. 28, 2021
Dear UAF faculty and staff,
Pursuant to President Pitney’s Oct. 18 decisions for UAF to stick with the process
of seeking authority for narrow vaccine requirements, I continue to . The Operations Support Team reviews these requests and makes a recommendation to
me. I then make a formal request to President Pitney for a final decision. We are
working through broader requests (such as all lab classes) so that they may be constructed
in a way that is consistent with the president’s direction regarding the necessity
of narrowly applied COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
In her response memo, the president referred to potentially looming federal requirements.
As you may know, President Biden issued executive order 14042, which established that
employees of federal contractors be vaccinated against COVID-19.Ìý
There has been a national dialogue on the legality and enforceability of this order,
but the fact remains that a significant amount of UAF research is federally funded,
either as a grant or a contract. As a major research university, UAF works with a
wide range of federal agencies, and we have begun receiving requests for contract
modifications that would themselves trigger COVID-19 vaccine requirements for employees
at UAF. This is a complex legal question and we appreciate the Office of the General
Counsel for its assistance in interpreting the landscape. Since accepting modifications
would in all likelihood trigger a broad vaccine requirement at UAF, and that requires
approval of the president, I am working closely with President Pitney on our path
forward. I expect additional communication in the coming days as this discussion matures.
We are monitoring the situation closely, and I will continue to communicate with you
as we learn more. Thank you for your work to stay informed, and thanks for choosing
UAF.
— Dan White, chancellor
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