Dear Infrastructure and Sustainability team,
I hope your summer is going well and that you’ve been able to find some time for rest and relaxation since the academic year ended. I’ve been hitting the trails myself and feel very fortunate that we have so many outdoor activities at our fingertips. We even saw our first moose, two no less within a couple of hours, while camping last week. I can’t state enough how proud I am of the selfless dedication you all displayed in helping to carry our university through the pandemic. It is in recognition of your work that I write to you today with some good news.
By now, hopefully you know that Chancellor DiStefano in May announced that the university is revising its winter break schedule to provide a full closure of all academic and administrative offices from Dec. 25 to Jan. 1 each year. This year, the campus shift includes holiday pay for three of the five work days during that time, with staff required to use two days of vacation leave.
However, in honor of your work over the past year, we are granting all Infrastructure and Sustainability employees two days of administrative leave during the Dec. 25 to Jan. 1 stretch so that our employees do not need to use any of their personal leave. I realize that some of you are essential services employees who may be required to work during that week to ensure continued operations of building systems and other critical needs. Please rest assured that any of the holiday time or administrative leave days that you are unable to use due to these work requirements can be taken at a different time in coordination with your supervisor.
Staff Council’s website includes a list of frequently asked questions about the new winter break schedule, and our I&S human resources director, Terri Willis, will follow up with managers and supervisors soon about the additional administrative leave for our organization to help ensure the message reaches all of our staff.
While Infrastructure and Sustainability might not be able to provide this additional administrative leave during the winter break closure every year, I hope this small gesture this year helps illustrate to you how much our leadership team and I have appreciated your efforts. The pandemic challenged us in ways we’ve never before experienced, and time after time you proved you were up to the task in support of our campus mission.
Thank you again for all you do,
David Kang, vice chancellor for infrastructure and sustainability
