March 29, 2021
Dear William Paterson Faculty & Staff,
This has been a challenging year, to say the least, and everyone has done such great work on behalf of our students that I have decided that a Wellness Day is in order and that most staff will be able to take off this Thursday, April 1 to enjoy an additional extension to the weekend (remember, the University was already scheduled to be closed on Friday, April 2). Rest assured that this is no April Fools’, just a sincere ‘Thank you’ for your dedication to William Paterson. Vice Presidents will inform their respective staffs regarding which essential employees, such as University Police, will need to work on Thursday. Employees who are required to work will earn comp-time on an hour-per-hour basis. The academic calendar already reflects the fact that there will be no classes on the 1st and 2nd, so most faculty and staff will now be able to join our students in taking advantage of the added time off.
I hope that you will all take advantage of this extra time to relax and recharge, so that you are can return refreshed. Please remember, though, that it is critical that we all continue to follow all current health guidance related to the pandemic. Remember to wash your hands frequently. Please do not attend large gatherings and, when you must be in the presence of others, continue to wear masks and practice social distancing during the break in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.
I also encourage everyone who is eligible to get the vaccine. The good news is that New Jersey has expanded the eligibility to include all higher education employees. Starting April 5, all William Paterson employees can arrange to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine. If you need assistance doing so, we are fortunate to be able to continue working with Atlantic Health to provide our employees access to the vaccine. If you are interested in participating in this program, please email payroll@wpunj.edu and provide your cell phone number and email. Atlantic Health will be contacting all employees via email to schedule an appointment.
On a more difficult subject, while I have shared as much information as I can so far regarding impending staff layoffs, I have necessarily provided more details on faculty layoffs, due to different noticing periods in the respective bargaining units’ contracts. I know that staff are eager for more information, so we have scheduled a Staff Town Hall on Zoom for Thursday, April 15, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance Steve Bolyai, Vice President for Human Resources Allison Boucher-Jarvis, and other senior administrators will be available to provide updates and answer your questions. Check your email for more details as we get closer to the date. I will caution that we are still working through a lot of the important details, so we won’t yet be ready to provide the kind of very specific information many of you are seeking. We will, as always, do our best to address your concerns and give you as much insight as we can into the process.
This week’s WP: We are Proud – Congratulations to music alumni Yu Nishiyama, MM ’20, and Hunter McKay, MM ’20, both graduates of the master of music program in jazz studies/arranging for being honored for their jazz compositions by the prestigious ASCAP Foundation! Nishiyama is one of 20 recipients of the 2021 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award, which recognizes gifted young jazz composers up to age 30. McKay was one of six composers to receive an honorable mention in the same competition. It's always great to see further evidence of the fact that William Paterson alumni are doing great things in a tremendous variety of fields throughout New Jersey and around the world.
Have a safe, restful, and enjoyable extended weekend.
