Dear colleague,
We wrote to you earlier this week to tell you that 150 to 200 graduate students whose work was disrupted by the pandemic could lose years of hard work toward their degrees if the administration doesn’t act quickly to get them funding extensions. We asked President Holloway and Graduate Deans from the three campuses for an emergency meeting to address this need, but our request went unanswered.
We’re asking you to help us amplify the voices of our graduate students by writing an email to President Holloway and the Graduate Deans. They need to hear from everyone who supports grads receiving a funding extension because their research and work was delayed through no fault of their own.
Our union was told in February that the administration believes there is no need for central support because individual departments and programs are taking care of grads’ additional funding needs. We know from grads themselves that this is untrue. Some have already been told by their departments that they will not receive further support to complete their degrees—and others inevitably will hear the same before the April 30 deadline for letters of appointment to go out. To learn more about what some grads are facing, read these excerpted testimonials.
If the administration doesn’t commit to additional funding, graduate students will fall through the cracks. That is unacceptable at a time when Rutgers’ endowment grew by half a billion dollars in less than two years and when the university has received unprecedented emergency funding from the federal and state governments.
The only way to address this urgent need is for the central administration to commit to funding extensions now. Please let President Holloway know you agree by clicking here and sending an email.
In solidarity,
Alex, Liana, and Sarah
Alexandra Adams, Vice President for Graduate Workers, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Liana Katz, Graduate Worker Steering Committee and Executive Council, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Sarah DeGiorgis, Graduate Worker Steering Committee and Executive Council, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
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