Muma
Juneteenth becomes official university holiday
Hello, Shocker family. Growing up in Houston and attending college in Galveston, Texas, Juneteenth is widely celebrated, a day of remembrance to commemorate the day enslaved people in Texas were notified of their freedom. General Order No. 3 was issued on June 19, 1865, in the City of Galveston to inform the people of Texas that enslaved people were free.
In 2021, President Biden recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday; and earlier this year, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced it as a state holiday. Along with other KBOR institutions — Juneteenth (on June 19) will be an official university holiday, starting in 2024.
The university will be closed every June 19. Anyone with questions about how this might affect your work schedule can reach out to their supervisor or read the frequently asked questions.
As we celebrate Wichita State's first official Juneteenth holiday in 2024, it’s my hope that we reflect on the significance of this day in our shared history.
— President Rick Muma
Frequently Asked Questions
General Employee Information
Decisions related to who needs to work on the holiday are up to the department leader. Please consult your department leadership for guidance.
University offices are closed for the majority of legal and officially observed holidays and most employees are not required to work on a designated holiday. However, it is recognized that the functions of certain departments will require some personnel to be on duty during holidays (e.g. Veterans Day when classes are in session). In those cases:
- Eligible non-exempt employees required to work on an observed holiday shall be afforded compensatory time or compensation at one and one-half (1.5) time for each hour worked. Holiday compensatory time may be used, accrued or paid as authorized.
- Eligible exempt employees who accrue vacation leave and are required to work on any observed holiday shall be afforded equivalent time off at a later date.
"When the holiday falls on a Saturday, it will be observed on the previous Friday. When the legal holiday falls on a Sunday, it will be observed on the following Monday.
Faculty Information
No, students cannot be required to attend classes on June 19.
Yes, instructors should prepare their summer syllabus to either make up the contact hours at another time and/or provide some hybrid or online instruction to cover those hours.
Yes, if an instructor wants to change the dates/part-of-term of their summer 2024 course, they should contact their department schedule builder as soon as possible. .
The summer schedule building deadline will be moved from January 5 to January 12. While changes should be made by that date, requests after that can be sent by the department to schedulebuilding@wichita.edu. All changes should be finalized by the end of February before the summer schedule is open for students to view.