An update from President Glotzbach

Dear Members of the Skidmore Community,

I would like to once again express my gratitude to the more than 530 members of our community who participated in our Community Meeting on Thursday, April 30. As the College confronts unprecedented challenges amid this pandemic, it is more important than ever that we maintain open communication and work together, and I appreciate the thoughtful questions and engagement you brought to the meeting.

As we usually do after Community Meetings, we have provided a written community update. Additionally, we will continue to provide answers to your questions through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Skidmore’s COVID-19 updates webpage, which will be updated regularly as new information becomes available. 

During the meeting, we reported that in the next step regarding furloughs, President’s Cabinet members have now met with Finance and Administration and Human Resources. The next step involves department heads and supervisors holding discussions about furloughs with Human Resources. Those conversations are now occurring and will determine how work in the respective area has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, and which staff members will go on full or partial furloughs or participate in a “workshare” program. The furloughs are expected to begin no earlier than May 18 and affected employees will be given as much notice as possible, at least one week in advance, so they can prepare. All partially or wholly furloughed Skidmore employees will retain their full health insurance benefits and should be eligible for assistance under the recently passed national stimulus package, known as the CARES Act, on top of standard unemployment benefits from the state. FAQs regarding furloughs are available here. 

I would also like to reinforce the importance of closely managing operating budgets to maximize savings on non-essential expenses through the end of this fiscal year and into the next, especially over the summer. This includes the continued suspension of all-college sponsored travel on common carriers, such as trains, planes and buses. Given the many unknowns still surrounding this pandemic, we must do all we can now to prepare for potential scenarios of the future, which the College’s new academic planning working group is exploring in detail.

As always, thank you for your commitment to this community and our mission, and for your patience during this trying semester. I encourage you to continue to support one another as much as possible.

Sincerely,

Philip A. Glotzbach

President