October 28, 2022
USS Senate and Faculty Senate express gratitude over holiday leave announcement
Submitted by Monica Macfarlane
The following is a letter from the Executive Council members of the USS Senate and the Executive Committee members of the Faculty Senate.
Dear President Linton,
We write today to express our gratitude to you for your recently announced operational plans for the holiday season this year. We greatly support and appreciate the decision to reduce normal university operations between Tuesday, Dec. 27, and Friday, Dec. 30, and to only provide the basic services required to support the university's teaching, research and service missions. The adjusted level of operations will allow a vast majority of employees to enjoy some much-appreciated time off with their families. Furthermore, we appreciate your decision to give employees (nine-month employees excluded as they already paid during that time) the week of Dec. 27-30 off with pay.
While this is not the first year a paid week off has been given during the holiday season, it is the first time in recent history such a decision was made for non-COVID-related reasons. Your acknowledgment of the dedicated efforts of the faculty and staff is admirable and reinforces the value of their hard work.
We thank you sincerely for recognizing our efforts in such an empathetic and generous manner.
Sincerely,
Monica Macfarlane, University Support Staff Senate President
Don Saucier, Faculty Senate President
Endorsed by,
University Support Staff Executive Council
Faculty Senate Executive Committee