Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    A Culture of Cybersecurity
    Opportunities in the Hard Sciences
    Career Preparation
Sign In
Vaccination Requirements

Biden Ordered Federal Contractors to Get Employees Vaccinated. Universities Have Begun to Comply.

By Francie Diep and Kate Hidalgo Bellows October 15, 2021
An employee of the University of Arizona who is classed in the 1B category, which includes teachers and childcare providers, receives the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, U.S., January 21, 2021.
A University of Arizona employee is vaccinated against Covid-19.Cheney Orr, Reuters, Newscom

About a month after the Biden administration announced it would require federal contractors to be vaccinated against Covid-19, universities across the country are beginning to impose campus-wide employee vaccine mandates in response.

Arizona’s three public universities announced on Friday that employees would have to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8, when the White House order goes into effect. Pennsylvania State University said the same on Tuesday, and the University of Delaware, last week.

“It was pretty clear to us, knowing our university, that we would qualify as a federal contractor,” said Laure Bachich Ergin, general counsel for the University of Delaware. “It didn’t take too long for us to believe that it applied to us.”

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

More than a month after the Biden administration announced it would require federal contractors to be vaccinated against Covid-19, universities across the country are beginning to impose campuswide employee vaccine mandates in response.

Arizona’s three public universities announced on Friday that employees would have to be fully vaccinated by December 8, when the White House order goes into effect. Pennsylvania State University said the same on Tuesday, and the University of Delaware, last week.

“It was pretty clear to us, knowing our university, that we would qualify as a federal contractor,” said Laure Bachich Ergin, general counsel for the University of Delaware.

Between research contracts and cooperative agreements — like a public-private partnership to improve pharmaceutical manufacturing — University of Delaware leaders estimate about $390 million in federal funding is at stake with the new emergency rule. Penn State has estimated it has more than $500 million in qualified funding. The University of Arizona has “hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts,” Robert C. Robbins, the president, wrote in a letter shared with The Chronicle, and “already has received amended federal contracts that include this requirement.”

Indeed, many colleges, public and private, will find themselves obligated to comply, legal experts say.

“If you’re an engineering school and you’re receiving federal defense funds to research or engineer a particular product or invention, that’s definitely covered. Feds dole out all sorts of money to medical schools and public-health schools. They dole out resources for programs and departments of education at universities,” said James G. Hodge Jr., a professor of law and the director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy at Arizona State University. (Hodge does not make decisions on universitywide policy and learned that Arizona State would require vaccinations of its employees only after the information became public.)

“The federal reach is so extensive,” Hodge said. “Major, research, tier-one universities like ASU, where I’m sitting here, I tell you, it’s going to capture a lot of people.”

The White House rules are written to apply widely, well beyond the employees who may be working directly on a federal contract. In guidance issued on September 24, the Biden administration specified that people who perform services supporting federal contracts, including billing, legal, or human-resources services, are covered. Subcontractors are covered. People who work entirely remotely are covered.

“We happen to have many federal contracts,” Ergin said of the University of Delaware, “but if you read the executive order and you read the guidance, it seems one federal contract triggers compliance, and then it triggers attachment to all of your employees.”

ADVERTISEMENT

But many colleges with federal contracts have yet to issue a vaccination requirement to their workers, particularly those in areas where Biden’s rule comes up against state bans on so-called vaccine passports.

The Chronicle contacted 19 flagship universities in states with such bans on Friday, asking how they planned to handle potentially conflicting directions from their states and the federal government. Most did not respond as of late Friday afternoon, but those who did said they still had not made a decision. A University of Tennessee spokesperson said the institution expects a decision in the next week.

Arizona’s public universities argue that their vaccine requirement doesn’t violate the governor’s order at all. The requirement isn’t a vaccine passport, said Holly Jensen, vice president for communications at the University of Arizona, because employees must directly submit their own documentation of their vaccination status to the university’s health system.

Jensen acknowledged, however, that legal challenges to the policy were possible, and said the university’s general counsel is working with the county and state to ensure that the institution stays within the bounds of the law.

A version of this article appeared in the October 29, 2021, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Law & Policy Political Influence & Activism
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
IMG_0023-removebg.png
About the Author
Francie Diep
Francie Diep is a senior reporter covering money in higher education. Email her at francie.diep@chronicle.com.
Kate Hidalgo Bellows, staff writer for the Chronicle of Higher Education.
About the Author
Kate Hidalgo Bellows
Kate Hidalgo Bellows is a staff reporter at The Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter @katebellows, or email her at kate.hidalgobellows@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Harvard University
'Deeply Unsettling'
Harvard’s Battle With Trump Escalates as Research Money Is Suddenly Canceled
Photo-based illustration of a hand and a magnifying glass focusing on a scene from Western Carolina Universiy
Equal Opportunity
The Trump Administration Widens Its Scrutiny of Colleges, With Help From the Internet
Santa J. Ono, president of the University of Michigan, watches a basketball game on the campus in November 2022.
'He Is a Chameleon'
At U. of Michigan, Frustrations Grew Over a President Who Couldn’t Be Pinned Down
Photo-based illustration of University of Michigan's president Jeremy Santa Ono emerging from a red shape of Florida
Leadership
A Major College-President Transition Is Defined by an About-Face on DEI

From The Review

Illustration showing a valedictorian speaker who's tassel is a vintage microphone
The Review | Opinion
A Graduation Speaker Gets Canceled
By Corey Robin
Illustration showing a stack of coins and a university building falling over
The Review | Opinion
Here’s What Congress’s Endowment-Tax Plan Might Cost Your College
By Phillip Levine
Photo-based illustration of a college building under an upside down baby crib
The Review | Opinion
Colleges Must Stop Infantilizing Everyone
By Gregory Conti

Upcoming Events

Ascendium_06-10-25_Plain.png
Views on College and Alternative Pathways
Coursera_06-17-25_Plain.png
AI and Microcredentials
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin