Q: How do employees find out the results of their triennial review?
Director of Human Resources Jennifer Cabral responded:
Regarding triennial review pay adjustments, supervisors make recommendations to the division head. The division head should then share what amount, if any, of triennial review pay adjustment was approved. The supervisor could then share that with the employee. In addition, the annual compensation notices will include the amount of any triennial review pay adjustments made.
Q: I have enjoyed the Theater of War residency events. Wanted to watch one or two over, have tried to find out whether they are archived ... any idea?
Theater of War focuses on presenting live theatrical experiences. However, some recordings are available on their channel, including the Sept. 24, 2020, “Tragedies for the Pandemic” presented as part of their Kenyon residency.
Q: Does Staff Council have an update on the triennial reviews [that are part of the Employee Performance Program] and the timeline? Are employees still required to complete a quarterly discussion review during the pandemic?
Director of Human Resources Jennifer Cabral responded:
Senior Staff will be discussing this next semester [spring 2021] and will inform the community when the decision is made. For now, employees should continue quarterly check-ins.
Q: In response to adjustments made to Kenyon’s 2020-21 budget in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, and petitions circulated in relation to proposed cuts to retirement benefits, Kenyon Student Council requested that Kenyon Staff Council provide a "proper and formal understanding on ... these cuts [and] how they were handled."
Kenyon Staff Council responded:
Dear Student Council,
Staff Council met on Tuesday and discussed the benefits reduction. Members present representing all divisions of the College were asked to consider both their own opinions and those of the coworkers they represent.
Regarding the temporary suspension of retirement contributions:
There was consensus among the Staff Council members present that the College acted wisely in implementing retirement benefit cuts. Members are aware that many other colleges and universities are furloughing or laying off staff, and appreciate Kenyon’s desire to maintain all jobs and health insurance benefits as long as possible. This shared sacrifice is preferable to seeing any of our co-workers lose their jobs. Maintaining regular pay for employees who were unable to complete some or all of their work during the remote spring semester were cited by members as evidence of Kenyon’s genuine care for employees.
Some 黄瓜精品Kenyon community have argued that the College could have tapped into “rainy day” funds before resorting to cuts. Staff Council members felt that these funds should be reserved for more catastrophic circumstances, since there is no guarantee that the pandemic’s effects on the College’s budget will last only one year — and, in fact, it is still possible that the College will still need to reduce the budget more severely this year.
Regarding Kenyon’s decision making process:
The majority of members expressed that they trust decisions like this to be made by the College’s Senior Staff and Board of Trustees, as long as there is consultation with appropriate bodies. In this case the Benefits Committee was briefed by Senior Staff members in detail before convening the Board of Trustees. Several members pointed out that, in general, the College should strive to include those most affected by decisions in discussions about those decisions as much as possible, and that this may happen more proactively 黄瓜精品future.
Finally, Kenyon Staff Council greatly appreciates the outpouring of concern by the student body for the welfare of Kenyon employees. All Kenyon employees, both staff and faculty, are committed to keeping students’ education, safety and overall wellbeing as our highest priority, and it is very meaningful to us that Kenyon students have expressed similar concern for our wellbeing.
Q: The College’s financial statements are indecipherable when it comes to how much the College pays in interest payments on its debt. Starting in 2010, would you provide how much the College has spent on its debt? In addition, how much does the College expect to pay annually from the end of 2019 until the debt has been retired?
Vice President for Finance Todd Burson responded:
“Please see the below page from our financial statements that show total debt service for 2017 and 2018 and how much of that was the annual principal and interest amounts. I have also circled the total amount to be paid out over the life of our debt and how much of that is principal and interest. We do not have 2018-19 financials closed yet.
[In summary: “The amount of rent paid by the College on its bonds for the year ended June 30, 2018 was $11,334,789 of which $1,070,000 represented principal and $10,264,789 represented interest. The amount of rent paid by the College on its bonds for the year ended June 30, 2017 was $8,739,642 of which $880,000 represented principal and $7,859,642 represented interest.”]
Also, to the last 20 years of financials so that anyone can look at our debt over the last 20 years, not just since 2010.
If the person who submitted the question has any other questions, I would be happy to talk with them. It is very important to me that everyone know the financial picture of the College.”
Q: A recent Knox Pages noted that Kenyon students on Middle Path have received open container citations from local law enforcement. While the incident itself may be trivial, is Middle Path private property, and how does that affect the in regard to internal vs. external protests?
Director of Campus Safety Michael Sweazey responded:
“I think there is a bigger issue at hand than where Kenyon property ends and Gambier property begins, and it is actually irrelevant in this case. There seems to be a common misunderstanding that many people have about what the Ohio open container law says. It does not say that one is allowed to have an open container if they are on private property. Under Ohio Revised Code 4301.62, no person shall have in their possession an open container of beer or intoxicating liquor in a liquor store, motor vehicle or in any public place. The misunderstanding is 黄瓜精品term ‘public place.’ Many students are interpreting this to mean ‘any place that is not privately owned’ and by extension that they can have an open container anywhere that is privately owned. That is not the legal definition. Legally, a ‘public place’ is defined as a space which anyone can enter freely, such as sidewalks, streets and parking lots. For instance, this means that if you are tailgating in a parking lot that you did not pay to enter, even though it might be privately owned, then it is a public place.
Now, students may respond that they are paying to attend Kenyon College, and therefore it is not a public place. In reality, unless people need to pay to enter Kenyon property or if entrance is not controlled in some way (for instance, the door to your home), it is a public place.
The open container laws do not apply in any way to Ohio protest laws. From the ACLU Ohio website: [According to Ohio laws], you can protest in public spaces, such as streets, sidewalks and parks as long as you aren’t blocking traffic. If you endanger others through the manner in which you choose to protest, you can be arrested. A protest that blocks traffic generally requires a permit. You do not have the right to block a building entrance or physically harass people. Protesting on private property is not protected by law. You can be arrested if trespassing. [Emphasis mine, and realize that this definition of private property refers to property owned by a person or entity and is different from the open container definition of private property.]
Hopefully, that makes it a little clearer!”
Vice President for Student Affairs Meredith Harper Bonham ’92 added:
“In addition to Michael’s very helpful and thorough response, I would only add that the new specifies that, per the early 19th-century maps that we consulted, Middle Path in Gambier is in fact College property.”
Q: Do exempt employees have unlimited sick time and vacation time? Do they have to report their time off to a supervisor or senior staff for approval? It seems as though some departments have employees/administrators out for a large portion of the year but as long as they are “sick” it is ok. Non-exempt employees have to submit a time sheet for approval and all hours are accounted for with sick time and vacation time.
Director of Human Resources Jennifer Cabral responded:
“Exempt employees do not have unlimited sick/vacation time. In fact, the policy covering this is 黄瓜精品Staff Handbook, quoted here:
Twenty-two working days of vacation are awarded to exempt employees at the beginning of each fiscal year, i.e., July 1. At the beginning of the academic year following the 10-year anniversary of employment, an additional day of vacation will be granted for each year over 10, to a maximum of 25 days.
While exempt staff do not have an annual SPF (sick, personal, family) leave allotment, it is understood that an occasional absence for illness will not result 黄瓜精品required use of vacation time, except 黄瓜精品case of FMLA leave (any paid leave such as vacation must be used concurrently with FMLA leave.)
Exempt employees do generally report/request time off to a supervisor or their proxy (although this is not tracked through Banner web time-entry as it is for hourly, non-exempt staff).”
Q: Can we get 10 weeks of parental leave instead of six?
Director of Human Resources Jennifer Cabral responded:
“The parental leave policy for staff has been reviewed by Staff Council on a number of occasions. No recommendation has been made to increase the amount of paid parental leave.”
Q: Can you please put out more information on the TIAA Retirement Healthcare Savings Plan?
Director of Human Resources Jennifer Cabral responded:
“Here is the link to information on the . Further questions can be directed to Leah Miller, assistant director of human resources.”
Q: During the COVID-19 pandemic and the Governor’s stay-at-home order, can a supervisor request (or require) you to take vacation days while working from home?
Director of Human Resources Jennifer Cabral responded:
“Kenyon’s vacation policies do have a use it or lose it provision, although you can carry over five days of vacation to the next year. If an employee has a lot of vacation left and would face losing some days, perhaps a supervisor would suggest they use the days so they don’t lose them. I would find it unusual that a supervisor would require someone to take a vacation day if they didn’t want to. If the employee still has questions, they may contact Human Resources for additional guidance.”