Colleagues,

It is more important than ever that we continue the conversation about the work-life balance difficulties our faculty and staff are being faced with daily.  Here you will find a document that was shared and discussed with university leadership.  Subsequent to that discussion, I met with university human resources leadership to discuss how we can best support our employees at the university and college levels.  I have asked the department chairs to discuss challenges impacting faculty and staff work-life balance and hope to receive added feedback following these department level discussions.  We have also surveyed the staff in all of our administrative service units.  We hope to get a better sense of what you are all feeling and what the college and university can do to provide you with more support.  We will summarize the needs expressed and provide this to faculty and staff in the coming weeks.   
 
Over the last week, I hosted two opportunities for open discussion with faculty and staff to bring any concerns or questions they had. I will be offering another session next Tuesday, October 20 at 11:00 AM.  Please let Meredith know if you would like to join and she will send you zoom connection information. I have also begun speaking to students in various classes thanking them for their courage and commitment and discussing how best to further support them.  I am happy to join any of your zoom classes for the first several minutes to thank and reassure them that we are constantly striving to improve their experiences.  Anyone who might be interested can reach out to Meredith to schedule.
 
I again thank you for your dedication, flexibility, and understanding as we navigate this together.

Best regards,

Scott Lephart