To the Unicamp community
We reached six months of non-face-to-face activities. When writing this letter, I know that I am addressing people separated by tens, hundreds or thousands of kilometers, many of them sheltering in their family's homes or in other addresses where they found relief during the months of quarantine. Many became ill or lost loved ones. These are difficult times.
In the almost 54 years of our university's history, we have never been so far apart. Since I joined as an undergraduate Physics student in 1986, however, I have never seen us so close - and united, collaborative, with such a sense of community.
The campus, more than a place, is temporarily established as an idea (a strong idea!), as emergency remote teaching continues. These classes mediated by technology were the best alternative to not hinder the trajectory of so many students, allowing us to plan the entry of the next generation in 2021. With a lot of effort from everyone, we managed to complete the first semester of 2020 and have already planned for the beginning of the second , which starts on September 15th.
At this time of preparation for the resumption of activities, I want to record a special thank you to our community, which knew how to reinvent itself in such a short time. In addition to the teachers and students, who have gone out of their way and will go out of their way again to conduct and carry out teaching activities, employees from all sectors who in person or remotely have adapted in some way to ensure the functioning of Unicamp deserve praise. In particular, doctors, nurses, cleaning professionals and other hospital employees have done and are doing brave work combating Covid-19 on the front line. Facing the pandemic has also been brilliant among our researchers. Cheaper tests, mathematical models for respirators, studies on how the virus works, vaccine tests and other major works reflect the best of Brazilian public universities.
And there were many collective and individual difficulties during the period. Projections of a drastic drop in revenue forced us to rethink the year's budget. Obtaining resources for the full functioning of our hospitals was a separate mission, which we have managed to accomplish with a lot of internal reorganization and help from civil society. Furthermore, external factors had a strong impact on the university environment. As an example, we can mention the pension reform and the sanction of Complementary Law 173/2020, which prevented new hiring and progressions as well as suspended the counting of time for five-year and sixth-part periods. These topics certainly demotivate, especially younger people. We need strength and unity, to restore the attractiveness of careers and together overcome the crisis.
Other threats loom on the horizon, which is still somewhat cloudy, as the evolution of the pandemic in Brazil and the world is uncertain. But there are some that make the moment more difficult and aggravate our concern about the immediate future of the university. At the federal level, administrative and tax reforms are already being discussed, with changes that could directly affect the university and its employees. At the state level, Bill No. 529 proposed by the Government is currently being discussed at ALESP, which establishes the transfer of the financial surplus of local authorities and foundations to the state treasury at the end of each year.
As is evident to anyone who examines the university's finances, there is no such thing as surplus money, quite the opposite. The balance sheet surplus indicates that Unicamp is in good standing, with good financial health (no loans or debts). These are the resources that responsible institutions reserve for payments for the following year and for planning their activities. Thanks to this reserve, we were able to overcome moments of crisis, with six years of financial deficit. If the Government's proposal is approved, even in 2020 – in the midst of uncertainty regarding the future revenues of São Paulo's universities – more than one billion reais will be confiscated from the budget of teaching and research institutions in the state of São Paulo. The impact on teaching, assistance, science, technology and innovation in the state will be overwhelming, both due to the state of the economy and – mainly – due to the progressive inability of institutions to maintain the high level of knowledge production and provision of services. services to the community, including in the area of public health.
Unicamp's rectory, together with that of the other universities in São Paulo, FAPESP and significant sectors of civil society, has mobilized to raise awareness among legislators and opinion-forming channels of the disaster announced by Bill 529. And we will certainly find support , as one of the effects of this horrible pandemic was to clearly reveal the importance of science and technology for people's lives, as well as demonstrating the resilience capacity of the university, which was able to redesign itself to continue providing society with the services that only it can offer in training people, conducting research and extending services to the general population.
Regarding the general functioning of the university, I would like to remind you that on August 18, the plan of steps and control measures for the resumption of in-person activities was presented. This plan is the result of vigorous planning work carried out by eleven working groups, which implemented a broad discussion within the academic community. It was announced very cautiously, with no set dates, as the schedule depends on the general picture of the pandemic in the coming weeks and months. Each new decision will be published, with the necessary details. We are working to ensure that these uncertain times pass with as little unpredictability as possible. It is up to each member of the community to pay attention to Unicamp's digital information platforms, in order to have the best planning for their personal activities.
Until then, we must remain united in any way possible, through the communication instruments we have, to not only keep Unicamp running, but also to mobilize in defense of university ideals and the achievements made since the implementation of autonomy. finance, achieved with difficulty in 1989.
The situation is serious, but this is not a pessimistic message nor should there be any sign of discouragement and resignation. On the contrary, if we remain strong this far, we will certainly have the energy and unity to overcome the obstacles that lie ahead, thanks to the enormous talent and ability to innovate of our teachers, staff, students and partners. And thanks also to everyone's commitment to defending the future of public, free and quality universities.
Marcelo Knobel,
Dean
