Juneteenth Holiday
As you may have seen in @theU this week, the Utah Board of Higher Education recently approved adding Juneteenth to university calendars. Juneteenth is a federal and state holiday honoring June 19, 1865, the day enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned of their emancipation.
This year, June 19 falls on a Sunday, so the U will observe the paid holiday on Monday, June 20. However, since the notice of this holiday approval came so close to the holiday, classes are not canceled this year. While professors are encouraged to cancel their classes, this means many of our student-facing departments must remain open and available on June 20.
Student Affairs leaders are working to determine the necessity of each team's availability on this new holiday. Hourly employees who work on June 20 will be paid time and a half. Salaried employees who work on that day may work with their supervisor to use the holiday at a later date.
If no one from a particular Student Affairs team is available on June 20, the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) has offered to field as many questions and/or concerns from students as possible for Student Affairs departments.
Thank you for your understanding and patience as we begin to recognize this new, important holiday on our campus. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is planning an on-campus Juneteenth event on June 21. We hope you can participate and, once finalized, we will share those details with you through the Student Affairs Newsletter.
Thank you,
Lori McDonald
Vice President for Student Affairs