Message from the Vice President for Research: 

Research Community, 

Please review the information below carefully to ensure your valuable materials stored in temperature-controlled units are properly protected. 

This is an important notice for all University organizations that manage valuable materials in temperature-controlled units. You are responsible for forwarding this information to applicable researchers and staff and following up as appropriate.  

If you have materials stored in these units that you would like to insure, please click this link to review or submit freezer contents. All information must be submitted and reviewed no later than November 24, 2025. 

Mitigating risk of loss is an important aspect of storing valuable materials and research contents in temperature-controlled units.  It is no surprise to find that losses across campus are often due to unexpected and unplanned for events.  Making time to consider various disruptive scenarios can be an important part of limiting, and in many cases, preventing a loss.  Some things to consider when establishing procedures, include planning for:  

• Power loss not just to a unit, but to an entire building or area of campus 

• Do you have a backup unit to put your contents in? 

• Do backup unit options include units in a building other than the one your unit(s) is currently located in. 

• Are there any options available for back-up power? 

• Technology failures and disruptions in communications, such as wi-fi interruptions, that may prevent notification of a malfunctioning unit or outage 

• Time periods during which people are unfamiliar with the use of new equipment or software packages 

• Time and distance that may prevent a responsible party from responding in a timely manner that may prevent a loss 

• Changes in personnel or other pertinent circumstances that may leave established emergency plans outdated; unfamiliarity with emergency plans which are not periodically reviewed by researchers/staff 

• Both expected and unexpected loss of personnel that may leave a gap due to lack of cross-training and/or institutional knowledge 

To assist you in preventing losses to your important research work, which in many cases is your life’s work, please also refer to the Loss Prevention Protocols for Temperature Controlled Units listed on the U Risk & Insurance Services website, which includes a link to important Preventive Maintenance Agreement and other information on the VP for Research website. 

Your lab/department may have contents in a temperature-controlled unit(s) you want insured.   

Please note: in order for contents to be insured, the unit(s) holding the contents must be listed and/or reviewed in the PULSE database during the annual inventory period which opened on October 1, 2025 and closes on November 24, 2025.   If a lab/department obtains a freezer outside of the annual inventory reporting period, the unit contents are not covered by insurance.  Any such unit would need to be added to PULSE during the next annual inventory period, at which point, if all other requirements are met, it would be insured. The annual inventory process also allows departments to confirm they are meeting the current protocols required for insurance coverage.   

Protecting research assets is a shared responsibility, thank you for taking the time to safeguard these critical materials. 

Erin Rothwell 
Vice President for Research