The university announced that it would begin offering one semester paid, new parent leave to Full Time Non-tenure Line Faculty members (FTNTL) the afternoon of Nov. 15. This will make the leave policies the same for FTNTL faculty and tenured faculty members.
Robert Groves, university provost, sent an email to faculty announcing the new policy. “I am pleased to report that effective immediately Full Time Non-tenure Line Faculty (FTNTL) on the Main Campus who will be the primary caregiver of a child (who is in the first year of life or newly homed child of five or younger) will be eligible for New Parent Leave,” Groves wrote. “In the coming days, Reena Aggarwal, Vice Provost for Faculty will provide more details about the policy, and the information will be posted on the Provost’s website.”
Faculty and students had shown strong support for this change in the policy, and the announcement followed the delivery of a GUSA senate resolution in support of parental leave equality on the morning of Nov 15. GUSA, along with members of the Academic Councils, the Georgetown Solidarity Committee, and H*yas for Choice delivered the petition to Joseph Ferrara, vice president and chief of staff to University President John DeGioia.
The resolution was passed at GUSA’s Nov. 4 meeting, and argues for parental leave equality for non-tenured faculty, who previously received eight weeks of leave to tenured professors whole semester.
The resolution was based on a previous petition that was delivered to the president earlier this semester by faculty. The petition received 282 signatures and began the discussion about reforming the parental leave policy. The administration had been meeting with members of the faculty since that delivery to establish a new policy.
Ferrara told the crowd of students delivering their petition on Nov. 15 that the issue was under serious discussion, and that the administration had been meeting with the faculty since they had delivered their petition.
GUSA Sen. Patrick Walsh (SFS ’21), who introduced the resolution, wrote in an email to the Voice that he was encouraged by the process. “This has been a great victory for our full-time, non-tenure line community members, and we have been proud to stand in solidarity with them,” Walsh wrote. “The resolution drop brought together the best of what Georgetown students have to offer, and we will urge the University to continue to uphold its commitment to just policies for its workers.”
Members of GUSA who supported the resolution cited the university’s ideals of equality and cura personalis as supporting the resolution. They also said students had an interest in extending leave to a semester, as it would prevent interruption of instruction when faculty left on leave. The resolution did, however, provide the caveat that the this change should not lead to an increase in tuition.
More details about the new policy are expected to be posted on the provost’s website in the coming days.
