Ohio State announced it will not hold an academic recess over winter break for employees this year following Kristina Johnson’s precedent the past two years. | Lantern File Photo

Hopefully, some at Ohio State didn’t plan their holiday beach vacations too soon this year.

After two years of university faculty and staff enjoying academic recesses in December, it was announced last week that the same closures will not be scheduled again this year. The breaks started in 2021 with an announcement from former Ohio State President Kristina Johnson granting an extra three days of time off over winter break.

“These recesses were determined on a year-by-year basis, giving special consideration to the challenges we were facing both at that time and throughout each associated academic year,” Katie Hall, interim senior vice president of the Office of Human Resources, said in an email to faculty and staff. “After a careful review, the university is not scheduling an academic recess for December 2023.”

In 2022, Johnson announced the same days off on Nov. 22, celebrating the work by employees and expressing gratitude for the community.

“So many of you continually put aside personal time and make sacrifices to support our mission of education, research and service. The health, safety and well-being of all Buckeyes is always my top concern,” Johnson said in the email. “We are able to use this time to support health and well-being because classes are not in session, and there are fewer people on our campuses and reduced operations.”

This excluded critical services and employees who normally work on holidays. 

Though the decision is made year by year, some employees expected the break to remain since it followed two years in a row. With Johnson’s recent departure from the university, though, others were unsurprised about the announcement.

Though the announcement wasn’t made by presidential leadership since the university has yet to appoint a new leader, many of the emails sent to staff and faculty included similar messaging.

“Faculty and staff wellness continues to be a priority,” Hall said. “Ohio State encourages employees to plan time away from work as needed to rest and recharge. Managers and leaders are encouraged to approve appropriate time off based on operational needs and to ensure that staff using approved time off are not compelled to work while they are out.”

Without a new appointment, Senior Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers said the decision was announced now to give “ample time for planning” in an email to some staff. Shivers also mentioned several options for the breaks if needed.

“I know that many team members enjoyed the academic recess over the past couple of years and that this news may be disappointing,” Shivers said. “Having said that, there are a great many factors and complexities that had to be considered and that led to this decision.”

She also encouraged staff to mention ideas or suggestions to Student Life directors for the break in addition to a few of her own, including supporting employees’ vacation requests, depending more on remote work options and moving meetings for the week the recess would have taken place.

The review process was not explained openly in these emails to the university community. University spokesperson Chris Booker said “there was special consideration given to the challenges employees were facing in 2021 and 2022” when making the yearly decision.