Wright State rewards employees with extra paid day off

Wright State University will give its employees an extra paid day off for Thanksgiving, even as the school continues to struggle financially.

In an email to campus on Wednesday WSU president Cheryl Schrader told employees that she would give employees Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving, off. Schrader said she wanted to give the extra day off as a way to “express how thankful” she is for what workers at Wright state do. She also gave a nod to the budget issues the university has faced.

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“I appreciate that the university has had limited options to recognize and reward many of our employees given our financial constraints,” Schrader wrote in an email.

In June, just before Schrader arrived, the Wright State board of trustees slashed more than $30.8 million from the school’s fiscal year 2018 budget in an attempt to correct years of overspending. The budget cuts led to layoffs and the school still has to find another $10.5 million in savings this year due to enrollment mix issues, scholarship and fellowship costs and the need to boost reserves by $6 million.

Schrader told employees that if they were required to be on campus on Nov. 22, they could use the extra paid day off any time between Nov. 22 and Dec. 15, according to the email.

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There are no classes scheduled for Nov. 22 and there are very few students and faculty on campus, said university spokesman Seth Bauguess. Some staff members take the day as a vacation day or a “half day” while other WSU offices let out a little early for people who do work, Bauguess said.

Wright State employees 824 full-time faculty, 934 adjunct faculty along with around 1,700 staff members, according to the school’s website.

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