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March 20, 2023
Dear William Paterson Faculty and Staff,
For those who took advantage of last week’s Spring Break to take some time away, welcome back to campus. As we enter the homestretch of the Spring semester, with just eight weeks to go, it is time to start planning for the summer. So, I am pleased to announce that we are making changes to the hybrid work schedule for the summer four-day workweek, which will allow impacted employees even greater flexibility during a period when fewer faculty and students are on campus. Employees whose schedules currently include remote work can request an additional remote working day provided they are on-campus Wednesday of each week. This change will allow for maximum engagement with the Summer Learning and Development Program while also providing for an in-person meeting day, when all employees are expected to be on campus. Employees who want to continue working 100% on-site may continue to do so.
This year, the summer workweek schedule will start on Monday, May 22 and end on Friday, August 11. The “extended workday” schedule will apply for nine of the twelve weeks of the summer schedule. We will return to a “regular work day” schedule during the weeks of May 29, June 12, and July 3 which contain the Memorial Day, Juneteenth and Fourth of July holidays, respectively.
Leaders should make every effort to schedule committee, divisional and/or departmental meetings on Wednesdays, when everyone is on campus. Employees should recognize that there may be occasions when they are required to be onsite in addition to Wednesday. As always, we ask that managers aim to provide a 72-hour notice of any schedule changes and that employees do their best to give managers at least a 24-hour notice when requesting changes to their Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday schedules. Please also understand that remote work for some weeks may not be feasible to allow for vacation coverage.
I want to thank Vice President Allison Boucher-Jarvis and her Human Resources team for their work as we continue our efforts to make William Paterson a more flexible, productive, and effective working environment. Please check your email for a message from HR later today, which will contain further details of the summer work schedule, and review it carefully so that you can work with your supervisor to plan your summer schedule accordingly.
A reminder that I will host Office Hours for faculty and staff this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in the Green Room of Hobart Manor, so please join me if you have questions, something on your mind you’d like to discuss, or news to share.
Also, a reminder that the joint Enrollment & Budget Forum and Tuition & Fees Hearing will take place next week on Thursday, March 30 at 12:30 p.m. in the Library Auditorium. Please plan to join us to get updates on our enrollment and budget situation and forecasts, ask questions, or provide comments for the Board of Trustees to consider before it sets tuition and fees for next year.
On the topic of our budget and state funding, you may have seen news coverage of William Paterson’s participation in last week’s joint legislative committee on higher education. Due to a longstanding prior commitment, I was not able to personally offer testimony on behalf of the University, so I want to thank Vice President Guillermo de Veyga and Vice President Kirsten Loewrigkeit for traveling to Trenton, where VP de Veyga spoke on my behalf. He made a strong case for additional State funding based on the important and often difficult work we have done to reduce costs, as well as our promising growth opportunities like WP Online and our refreshed branding and identity, as well as the tremendous value of investing in the students we serve. I will keep you posted on key developments as Governor Murphy and the legislature continue to work on an FY24 budget.
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