TO:   Members of the North Central Michigan College Community

FROM:   Dr. David Roland Finley, President, North Central Michigan College

The Governor’s Office recently issued Executive Order 2020-162, which amends Executive Order 2020-160 to state that ‘must’ has changed back to ‘should’ with respect to remote work in Regions 6 and 8 of Michigan.  As a reminder, Emmet County is in Region 6.  The brief executive order stating this information is found here:

https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/0,9309,7-387-90499_90705-535665--,00.html

A noted in Executive Order 2020-162, the standard for remote work, “should be performed remotely,” has not changed in regions 6 & 8.

It is also encouraging to see the number of COVID-19 positive cases diminishing in Northern Michigan, as well as plateauing statewide.  Please see the following links.

http://nwhealth.org/covid19dash2.html

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/coronavirus-tracker-what-michigan-needs-know-now

Nevertheless, it is also important to do all that we reasonably can to comply with the spirit of these latest Executive Orders (2020-160, 2020-161).  However, I do think that Executive Order 2020-162 does provide increased flexibility as to when and how we choose to work on-campus and when we choose to work remotely.  See July 31 Update for further guidance in this regard.  Please keep optimal service to our students and other colleagues on campus in mind when making these decisions.

Be smart, be safe, and stay healthy in the coming days.  By pulling together, we can create the best working environment possible under these challenging circumstances.

As always, I thank you for your good work on behalf of the learners at North Central.