For the third consecutive year, Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced two additional paid holidays for state employees in appreciation for their service during 2022.
University leaders have decided to implement the paid holidays for ISU employees on Wednesday, Nov. 23, and Friday, Dec. 23. Those dates, combined with standing university holidays, give ISU employees an up to five-day weekend for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Normal holiday procedures will be followed on these days.
In a Nov. 11 email to faculty and staff, President Wendy Wintersteen and vice president for human resource services Kristi Darr asked supervisors to review necessary operations and make decisions about work schedules for the additional paid holidays. Units also should communicate any operational changes to their customers and constituents.
"I never take for granted that it's the collective effort of our entire team that allows me to serve to the best of my ability," Reynolds posted in her Nov. 10 message to state employees. "You are an important part of my team. Thank you for the work you do every day to make our state the incredible place it is."
Wintersteen and Darr reinforced the governor's message of gratitude.
"We deeply appreciate your hard work and dedication to the university," they wrote. "Thank you for all that you do for Iowa State."
Reynolds first awarded additional paid holidays in November 2020, when state employees were working through the pre-vaccine phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and responding to an August derecho that caused billions of dollars in damage across the Midwest.
