To: Wellesley College Faculty and Staff
From: Carolyn Slaboden, Chief Human Resources Officer
Re: COVID-19 Faculty and Staff Emergency Fund
Date: June 16, 2020
Our community demonstrates its strength in many ways. Over the past few weeks, several people have reached out to me to find ways to support fellow community members who have been impacted by issues related to COVID-19.
In response, we have created the COVID-19 Faculty and Staff Emergency Fund, made up of donations from Wellesley College faculty and staff, to provide financial assistance to College administrative and union staff and faculty who are experiencing an immediate, severe, and temporary financial hardship due to issues related to COVID-19. Donors will receive a receipt to be used for tax purposes.
A maximum of $500 per applicant can be granted to assist with rent, utilities, health care, or other immediate and essential expenses; the amount will be based on the applicant’s demonstrated need, the short-term nature of the financial hardship, and the available balance in the fund. The financial assistance does not need to be repaid. The College will gross up the amount to cover any applicable taxes.
Links to a description of and FAQ about the COVID-19 Faculty and Staff Emergency Fund program and the application and donation forms are available in MyWellesley on the Home tab and in the list of announcements on your Workday home page.
Applications should be submitted to Human Resources, which will share them with the Review Committee. The committee, made up of a small but diverse group of Wellesley community members from across the College, views and approves applications, and does not receive any identifying information regarding applicants or donors to the fund. Current members of the committee include:
- Rebecca Gordon, program director, Albright Institute
- Tim Peltason, professor of English
- Maureen Sullivan, Dining Services
- Cathy Summa, associate provost and director of the Science Center
- Pam Taylor, assistant provost, Institutional Planning and Assessment
- Jennifer Thomas-Starck, director, International Studies
Decisions regarding grants from the fund will be made on a biweekly basis and will depend on the availability of donated funds. In the event that the pending requests exceed the amount available in the fund, the Review Committee has discretion to allocate funds across all pending requests.
I am grateful to the faculty and staff members who have agreed to serve on the Review Committee, and I’m proud to be a part of a community whose members care deeply about one another.
