GSWS Care Work Recommendations for University of Pennsylvania

August 11, 2020

The following message was sent to President Gutmann and Provost Pritchett on August 11, 2020

Dear President Gutmann and Provost Pritchett,

We, faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pennsylvania, are writing today to call attention to the extreme circumstances of our work lives since the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Many of us have been engaged in synchronous work as parents, teachers of our own children, child care providers, and full-time employees and/or students of Penn, without pause, since March. In most cases our workloads have actually increased from our home “offices”, as faculty struggle to meet the demands of transferring courses and advising to online formats, and staff learn new technological skills to move programming online, while also dealing with new reporting requests to document the numbers of attendees and students supported each week. We have been laboring at home, using our own computers and other office supplies, with our children, elderly parents, and other dependents present, in the ultimate entanglement of work and home life. Many of us do not feel that our material conditions have been sufficiently acknowledged, nor has our plight been addressed in any meaningful way, by the University. To date, those of us who have reached out for support have been informed that there is nothing that the University can do to address our situation as caregivers, suggesting instead that we find individual solutions to what is a well-documented structural issue; one that pre-dates the pandemic, and one that, if no immediate action is taken, will surely deepen. Below, we have outlined ten recommendations that, if taken seriously by the University, will help to alleviate some of the pressure many Penn employees and students have felt keenly over the past several months during the “work from home” period, while also supporting local educational facilities. As we prepare for the fall, it is critical that Penn take a leadership role amongst its peers by addressing these issues in a structural, comprehensive, and timely way.

We recognize that Penn employees and students are not alone in their plight. The caregiving crisis exposed by the global pandemic has been the topic of discussion in national forums for months. But we also recognize that the University of Pennsylvania enjoys resources and a privileged location in the community that could enable us not only to meet the demands of this current moment, but to be forward-looking about how we address the care work needs of our employees, students, and the surrounding Philadelphia community in the future.

We recommend the following:

The University should create a fund available to graduate students/faculty/staff who are facing increases in child care as a result of COVID procedures/increases in fees, or who need additional dependent care support because of school/day program/other closures. This should be a blanket fund given to all care takers with the possibility for well-remunerated caregivers to opt out.
The University should restructure the arrangement with the Care.com program “BackUpCare” to be by the hour not by the day. Currently, it is specified at 10 days for the year for faculty and staff (7 days for postdocs and students) and up to 10 hours in one day, but it is based on daily not hourly use. The arrangement needs to be restructured by the hour in order to maximize on the needed time throughout the year and it should be substantially increased in response to the austere work conditions of the pandemic.
The University should make targeted and substantial donations to quality child care centers (starting with those in zip code 19104), offsetting the costs of implementing COVID prevention recommendations and contributing to the local community.
The University should pay PILOTS in support of the Philadelphia Public School system, a chronically underfunded school system. This will help the district to provide instruction safely to students during the COVID period and beyond.
The University should immediately pause all performance appraisals for staff, allowing staff members to opt in if they choose.
For Academic Departments: all tenure clocks should be extended by at least one year. This should not be an opt-in extension, but a blanket extension that people can choose to decline. (Our current understanding is that this has varied by School. It should be universal and blanket.)
For Academic Departments: service obligations that do not have teaching releases should be re-allocated or more evenly distributed.
For Academic Departments: when deciding which classes to cancel because of low student enrollment or the instructor’s inability to teach in person, instructors with care burdens should be prioritized.
For Academic Departments: prioritize co-teaching so that faculty members can share the burden of course development and teaching, and enjoy the security of backup instruction should one faculty member fall ill and/or experience a loss of caretaking support.
For Academic Departments: departments should adopt a 'sliding scale' of what is required to secure any given grade in any given class proportionate to how much work time was lost as a result of covid-19/unexpected care work and other acute challenges (such as those posed to Black and international students dealing with the effects of racism and a hostile political situation on top of COVID-19). This would help equalize outcomes and support students through this unprecedented time.

We urge you to give these recommendations your fullest consideration. Thank you for your attention.

Signed,

Alexander Adames, PhD Student, Sociology
Shoshana Adler, Graduate Instructor, English/SAS
Julia Alekseyeva, Assistant Professor of English/Cinema and Media Studies
Nikhil Anand, Associate Professor, Anthropology
Rachel Appel, Penn Libraries, Digital Preservation Librarian
David S Azzolina, Penn LIbrarians, GSWS
Shana Bahemat, Program Coordinator, APC & GSWS
Regina Baker, Assistant Professor, Sociology
Apurva Bamezai, PhD Student, Political Science
Catherine Bartch, Associate Director, Latin American and Latino Studies
Tayeba Batool, PhD Student, Anthropology
Sarah Bauman, Library Assistant, Penn Libraries
Herman Beavers, Professor of English/Africana Studies
Gwendolyn Beetham, Associate Director, Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies
Nicholas Bell, PhD Candidate, Political Science
Nancy Bentley, Professor, English
Siarhei Biareishyk, Visiting Assistant Professor, German/REES
Julia Bloch, Director, Creative Writing Program
Courtney Boen, Assistant Professor, Sociology
Stephen Bonett, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Nursing
Toni Bowers, Professor, English
Ricardo A. Bracho, Artist-in-Residence, GSWS/APC
Pearl Brilmyer, Assistant Professor, English
Ashley Brock, Assistant Professor, Romance Languages
Jamiella Brooks, Associate Director, Center for Teaching and Learning
Kathleen Brown, David Boies Professor of History
Loretta Brown, Staff Member, PENN Libraries
Veronica Brownstone, PhD Student, Hispanic Studies
Robert C. Bryant, PhD Student, Department of Anthropology
Ellen Bryer, PhD Student, Sociology
Clarissa Busch, PhD Student, Philosophy
Randall C. Burson, MD-PhD Student in Anthropology and Medicine
Elizabeth Bynum, PhD Candidate, Music and Anthropology
Kimberly Cardenas, PhD Candidate, Political Science
Sarah Carson, PhD Candidate, Anthropology
Max Cavitch, Associate Professor, English
Kennan Cepa, PhD Candidate, Sociology
Chetan Cetty, PhD Candidate, Philosophy
Linda Chance, Associate Professor, East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Hsiao-wen Cheng, Associate Professor, East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Rosemary Clark-Parsons, Associate Director, Center on Digital Culture and Society
Jean-Christophe Cloutier, Associate Professor, English
Chelsea M. Cohen, PhD student, Anthropology
Thomas Collins, PhD student, English
Thomas Conners, PhD Candidate, Hispanic Studies
Timothy Corrigan, Professor Emeritus, English/Cinema and Media Studies
Manuel de la Cruz Gutiérrez, Staff Member, Penn Libraries
Anat Dan, PhD Student, Comparative Literature
Hadja Diallo, lecturer, Nursing
Agustin Diaz, PhD student, Economics
Ezekiel Dixon-Román, Associate Professor, SP2
Ivan Drpić, Associate Professor, History of Art
Allison Dunatchik, PhD Student, Sociology
Abigail Dym, PhD student, Political Science & Education
Jamal J. Elias, Professor, Religious Studies
Tomas Elliott, Comparative Literature
David L. Eng, Richard L. Fisher Professor, English
James English, John Welsh Centennial Professor of English
Jane A. Evered, Adjunct Instructor, Nursing
Zahra Fakhraai, Associate Professor, Chemistry
Huda Fakhreddine, Associate Professor, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Tulia G. Falleti, Class of 1965 Term Professor Political Science, Director LALS.
Siyen Fei, Associate professor, Department of History
Marcia Ferguson, Theatre Arts Program
Kim Fernandes, PhD student, Graduate School of Education and Anthropology
Arlene C. Fernández, PhD student, Annenberg School for Communication
Lauren Ferreira Cardoso, PhD Candidate, SP2
Sebastián Figueroa, PhD Student, Hispanic Studies
Dalmacio Flores, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Mike Gadomski, PhD candidate, Philosophy
Alba Solà Garcia, PhD Student, Hispanic Studies
Samantha Gillen, PhD Candidate, Romance Languages
Sebastián Gil-Riaño, Assistant Professor, History and Sociology of Science
Juliet Glazer, PhD Student, Departments of Anthropology and Music
Loren Goldman, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Marie Gottschalk, Professor of Political Science
Pilar Gonalons-Pons, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Linda Grabner Travis, Lecturer, SPAN & Managing Editor, Hispanic Review
Kendra Grimmett, PhD Candidate, History of Art
Chao Guo, Associate Professor, SP2
India Halstead, Teaching Associate / Graduate Student, SAS
Sa Min Han, PhD Candidate, Stuart Weitzman School of Design
Hanne Harbison, Lecturer, School of Nursing
Shaquilla Harrigan, PhD Student, Sociology
Lauren Harris, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology
Katelyn Hearfield, PhD Student, Department of Music
Taylor Heath, PhD Student, Sociology
Kathryn Hellerstein, Professor, GRMN & Director of Jewish Studies, SAS
Matty Hemming, PhD Student, Department of English
Paul Hendrickson, Senior Lecturer, Department of English
Amy Hillier, Associate Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice
Sukaina Hirji, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy
Frances Hoenigswald, Library Clerk, Van Pelt Library
Sophie Hochhäusl, Assistant Professor, Architecture
Caroline Hodge, PhD Candidate, Anthropology
Morgan Hoke, Assistant Professor, Anthropology & Population Studies
Amey Hutchins, Librarian, Kislak Center, Penn Libraries
Roberta Iversen, Assoc. Prof., Social Policy & Practice
Sarah J. Jackson, Annenberg School for Communication
Jasmine Johnson, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies
Grace Sanders Johnson, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies
Richard James, Penn Libraries, Nursing Liaison Librarian
Margaret Janz, Penn Libraries
Audrey Jaquiss, PhD Student in Political Science
Jeff T. Johnson, Lecturer, English
Sanjay Jolly, Penn Law JD ‘21, Annenberg School for Communication PhD Candidate
Gillian Maris Jones, PhD Student, Anthropology and Africana Studies
Staci Jones, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication
Indivar Jonnalagadda, PhD Student, Anthropology and South Asia Studies
Sarah H. Kagan, Professor-CE of Gerontological Nursing, School of Nursing
Archana Kaku, PhD Candidate, Political Science
Ayako Kano, Professor, East Asian Languages and Civilizations/GSWS
Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, Professor, History
Jonathan D. Katz, Interim Director, GSWS/APC, Associate Professor of Practice, History of Art
Jeffrey J. Katzin, PhD Candidate, History of Art
Suvir Kaul, A M Rosenthal Professor of English
Amanpreet Kaur, Staff Member, Penn Libraries
David Kazanjian, Professor of English and Comparative Literature
James Ker, Associate Professor of Classical Studies
Fariha Khan, Associate Director, Asian-American Studies
Dana Khromov, PhD student, Romance Languages
Regan Kladstrup, Kislak Center, Penn Libraries
Davy Knittle, PhD Candidate, English
Hilah Kohen, PhD Student, Comparative LiteratureCandidate
Ann Kuttner, Associate Professor, History of Art
Shaleigh Kwok, Lecturer, Critical Writing Program
Yingchen Kwok, PhD Student, History and Sociology of Science
Nathalie Lacarrière, PhD , Romance Languages
Chris LaMack, PhD. Student, Anthropology
Andrew T. Lamas, Faculty, SAS & SP2
Isabelle Langrock, PhD student, Annenberg School for Communication
Kirsten Lee, Ph.D. Candidate/Graduate Instructor, English
Anna Lehr Mueser, PhD Candidate, History and Sociology of Science
Robin Leidner, Associate Professor of Sociology
B. Tyler Leigh, PhD student, Communication and Political Science
Michael Leja, Professor and Chair, History of Art
Lidia León-Blázquez, PhD, Lecturer in Foreign Languages, Department of Romance Languages (Hispanic & Portuguese Studies)
Elisheva Levy, PhD. Student, Architecture
Jeanne Lieberman, PhD Student, Anthropology
Jessa Lingel, Associate Professor, Annenberg School for Communication
Ania Loomba, Professor, English.
Heather Love, Professor, English
Samantha Love, Phd Student, Sociology
Mili Lozada, Lauder Institute
David M. Lydon-Staley, Assistant Professor, Annenberg School for Communication
Brendan Mahoney, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication
Casey Mahoney, PhD candidate, Political Science
Zain R. Mian, PhD Student, Comparative Literature
Megan Matthews, Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Autumn Melby, PhD Student, Anthropology
Meredith Methlie, Administrative Director, Organizational Dynamics
Alicia Meyers, Ph.D. Candidate, English
Lisa Miracchi, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Kristina Mitchell, PhD Candidate, Hispanic and Portuguese Studies
Daniel Morales-Armstrong, PhD student in Africana Studies and History
Sheila Murnaghan, Professor of Classical Studies
Maria Murphy, Interim Associate Director, Alice Paul Center
Megan Murray, PhD Student, Political Science
Paul Musso, PhD Student, Philosophy
Robert Naborn, Lecturer, Dutch Studies, Germanic Languages and Literatures
Pris Nasrat, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication
Olga Nechaeva, PhD Student, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory
Julie Nelson Davis, Professor, History of Art
Laura Nickrosz, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships, Annenberg School for Communication
Elizabeth Oakley, PhD Candidate, Anthropology
Amy C. Offner, Associate Professor, History, SAS
Josephine Park, Professor, English and Asian American Studies
Litty Paxton, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies, Annenberg School for Communication
Victor Pickard, Professor, Annenberg School for Communication
haley pilgrim, PhD Candidate, Sociology
Kevin M. F. Platt, Professor, Russian and East European Studies
Sara Purinton, PhD student, Philosophy
Isaac Rabbani, PhD Student, Economics
Ken Raining, Circulation Desk Administrator, Van Pelt Library
Karen Redrobe, Professor, History of Art
Emily Regier, PhD Candidate, Political Science
Alejandra Regla-Vargas, PhD Student, Sociology
Elizabeth Rhoades, Professor, Chemistry
Nat Rivkin, PhD Student, English
Nancy Roane, PhD Candidate, Comparative Literature
Megan Robb, Assistant Professor, Religious Studies
Brett Robert, PhD Student, History
Cara Rogers, Administrative and Events Coordinator, Libraries Advancement
Shantee Rosado, GSAS Alum, Sociology
Atenea Rosado-Viurques, Joint PhD Student, Anthropology & Education
Marlen Rosas, PhD Candidate, History
Wendy D. Roth, Associate Professor, Sociology
Angelina Ruffin, PhD Student, Social Welfare
Megan Ryerson, UPS Chair of Transportation, Associate Professor, City and Regional Planning/Weitzman, Electrical and Systems Engineering/SEAS
Rashi Sabherwal, PhD Student, Political Science
Paul K. Saint-Amour, Professor, English
Gabriel Salgado, PhD Candidate, Political Science
Melissa E. Sanchez, Donald T. Regan Professor of English
Utpal Sandesara, PhD Alum, Anthropology
Adam Sax, PhD Candidate, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory
Rachael Schechter, staff, Fisher Fine Arts Library
Raka Sen, PhD Student, Sociology
Michael Martin Shea, PhD Candidate, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory
Jess Shollenberger, PhD Candidate, English
Maja Sidzińska, PhD student, Philosophy
Troels Skadhauge, PhD Candidate, Political Science
Miranda Sklaroff, PhD Student, Political Science
Zachary Smith, PhD Candidate, Political Science
Eva Del Soldato, Associate Professor, Romance Languages
Emily Steinlight, Associate Professor, English
Helen Stuhr-Rommereim, PhD Candidate, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory
Mary Summers, Senior Fellow, Fox Leadership Program; Lecturer, Political Science
Jeanna Sybert, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication
Genevieve Tan, PhD Student, History
Martine Tchitchihe, Comparative Literature
Dawn Teele, Associate Professor of Political Science
Jorge Tellez, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages
Deborah A. Thomas, R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology
Jolyon Thomas, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Evelyn Thomson, Associate Professor, Physics & Astronomy
Julia Ticona, Assistant Professor of Communication
Patrina Sexton Topper, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Nursing
Carolyn J. Trench, Lecturer, Critical Writing Program
Kimberly Trout, Assistant Professor of Women’s Health, School of Nursing
Catherine Turner, Senior Associate Director, Center for Teaching and Learning
Catalina Udani, PhD Student, Political Science
Roopa Vasudevan, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication
Robert Vitalis, Professor, Political Science
Heidi Voskuhl, Associate Professor, History and Sociology of Science
Lexi Voss, Staff Member, Penn Libraries
Kathryn Watterson, Lecturer, Creative Writing Program
Anna Weesner, Weiss Professor of Music
Alex Weisiger, Associate Professor/DGS, Political Science
Steven Weitzman, Professor, Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
Stephanie Wesson, PhD student, Philosophy
Hilary Whitham Sánchez, PhD Candidate, History of Art
Melissa Wilde, Professor, Sociology
Emily Wilson, Professor, Classical Studies/Comparative Literature
Yin Ling Irene Wong, Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice
Dagmawi Woubshet, Associate Professor of English
Reut Yarnitsky, PhD Candidate, Weitzman School of Design
Youngbin Yoon, PhD student, Philosophy
Haoxin Zeng, Masters Student, Master of Liberal Arts
Naomi Zucker, PhD Candidate, Anthropology

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