Dear Faculty and Staff,

We hope you and your families continue to remain safe and healthy during this time. Spring 2020 has been challenging for all of us at UHD, but semester’s end is just a few weeks away. Through hard work and collaboration, everyone has done an outstanding job of making sure our students will successfully complete this trying academic session.

Many of you still have questions related to campus operations in the wake of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Be assured that further information about the restoration of campus-based services will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. Recently, Dr. Muñoz addressed many of these questions during a Staff Council meeting, some of which was captured in his recent message to the community, particularly issues related to summer courses remaining online and University administrative functions continuing in a virtual format through the month of May.

During the Staff Council meeting, President Muñoz also addressed the issue of faculty and staff parking. He announced that employees would be reimbursed for two months of parking fees. Through the collaborative efforts of UHD’s Parking & Transportation Services and Employment Services & Operations, the details of the reimbursements are as follows: 

• Monthly employees who pay for parking through payroll deduction will not see those deductions on their May 1 and June 1 paychecks.
   
• Bi-weekly employees who pay for parking through payroll deduction will receive a refund of one month’s parking deduction on their May 8 check, and will not see that deduction on their May 22 paycheck.
   
• Employees who paid for their permits in full will receive a refund from Parking & Transportation. Prorated refunds for permits purchased with cash, check or credit card will be processed via direct deposit through Accounts Payable.

Another option for faculty and staff (which was proposed at the recent Staff Council meeting) is to contribute those refunded fees to the Gator Emergency Fund, which is supporting students affected by the pandemic (helping pay bills, rent, childcare and more). UHD Community members who are interested in this option should contact Sandra Jacobson, Manager of Annual Giving at jacobsons@uhd.edu. We realize the past five weeks have presented a number of challenges for the University Community. Our hope is that these parking reimbursements will alleviate some of the burdens you are facing during this pandemic. Thank you for your hard work, flexibility and support … and stay healthy, Gators.