University Holidays/Winter Break Days
Holiday Memo (2025-26) Holiday Memo (2026-27)
Utica University recognizes certain days during the year as paid holidays so that employees may maintain a proper balance between work, family, and recreation. In addition to the following list of holidays, staff employees may enjoy 22.5 hours of Floating Holiday time during the 2026-2027 academic year.
The 22.5 hours of Floating Holiday time should be arranged upon mutual agreement between each employee and their supervisor. New employees hired after November 30, 2026, will be eligible for 15 hours of Floating Holiday time. In addition, new employees serving their 90-day orientation period are not eligible to use Floating Holidays or vacation days during that time frame.
For several years the University has recognized a week during the Winter Break as a Winter Shutdown week. Although University operations are generally slower in the days surrounding the Christmas and New Year holidays, and we can operate with fewer staff members, the reality is that in many departments, we cannot completely shut down. Therefore, there will be no designated Winter Shutdown week for the 2026-2027 academic year.
For the weeks of 12/21/2026-12/25/2026 and 12/28/2026-1/1/2027 departments and offices that can operate with minimal staff members or shut down completely are free to do so. Staffing and coverage plans (including any proposed shutdowns or closures for certain days or weeks) must be approved by the area Vice President. Vice Presidents must submit their staffing and coverage plans for these weeks to hr@utica.edu no later than Friday, November 6, 2026. The University paid holidays for these weeks are Thursday, December 24th, Friday, December 25th, and Friday, December 31st. Employees may use paid vacation/personal time/floating holidays to cover other time taken during those weeks.
Please note the following:
- Supervisors will have both the responsibility and the authority to determine which staff members will be required to work during Winter Break weeks.
- Please remember weeks that contain holidays do not qualify for Flex Work schedules (that is, the holiday is the flex day for all employees). For weeks that contain holidays, exempt employees must enter 7.5 hours for each holiday. Non-exempt employees should record 7.5 hours for each day of a holiday week. Remember that work weeks need to total 37.5 hours.
Please contact the Office of Human Resources at (315) 792-3276 with any general questions relating to this memo.