By Jenn Brice
The University of Virginia introduced efforts to support workers furloughed by its contractors — such as Aramark — in an announcement from University President Jim Ryan to the university community Monday. The efforts include establishing a $2 million emergency assistance fund for the university’s contract workers and an additional $1 million to Charlottesville Area Community Foundation efforts.
“A core aspiration of our strategic plan is to be a university that is both great and good,” Ryan said. “Toward that end, we have committed to doing our best to be a good neighbor and to live our values. That means, among other things, doing what we can to support our most vulnerable community members.”
In their March 17 update to the university community, Ryan and Provost Liz Magill assured all part-time and full-time employees that their compensation and benefits would remain unchanged “for the foreseeable future,” but they could not extend the guarantee to contracted employees.
