Greetings!

It is our pleasure to inform you that we are once again granting three gift days to employees who are eligible for leave benefits in the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year. With the gift days on Tuesday, Dec. 24, Monday, Dec. 30 and Tuesday, Dec. 31, employees will be able to enjoy the period from Dec. 24 through New Year’s Day without using vacation or any other paid time off.

The decision to grant gift days in 2016 – and in every subsequent year – reflected our sincere appreciation for your hard work and dedication throughout the year. Unquestionably, that is the case this year as well.

Our universities, hospital and clinics, and system offices will follow up with more details, including how to report the gift days and how they can be used on different days by essential employees who must work on those three dates. For employees in union-represented bargaining units, paid time off for the holidays is addressed through the collective bargaining process.

We thought this brief history on gift days might add perspective for each of us as we relax and unwind with family and friends during our well-deserved break at the end of the calendar year. We cannot guarantee that these gift days will always be granted, but we are thrilled to keep our streak intact for at least one more year.

While the holiday season is many months away, this information will help you to plan for that time. Thank you again for your talent, work ethic and drive in meeting the many challenges required to deliver a world-class educational experience and facilitate leading-edge research.

Sincerely,

Tim Killeen
President
University of Illinois System

Nick Jones
Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs
University of Illinois System

Robert J. Jones
Chancellor
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Marie Lynn Miranda
Chancellor
University of Illinois Chicago

Janet L. Gooch
Chancellor
University of Illinois Springfield