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Two W&L Staff Members Awarded Paid Professional Leave The program offers staff a 30-day leave, with full pay, to advance some aspect of their career and work at the university.

Two Washington and Lee University staff members received a 30-day leave, with full pay, to advance some aspect of their career and work at the university. The 2020 Professional Leave awards went to Dave Pfaff, IQ Center academic technologist, and Jenny Davidson, assistant director of the Shepherd Program.

Pfaff will travel to Florence, Italy, with the “Florence As It Was” W&L group, led by George Bent, the Sidney Gause Childress Professor of the Arts at W&L, to test new techniques for documenting buildings and artwork.

“If the stars align, we are hoping to travel over February Break and create models of artwork and structures in the Duomo and Baptistery in the heart of Florence,” said Pfaff.

Davidson will take courses at Eastern Mennonite University through its Center for Justice and Peace’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute. These courses will be the first six credits on her way to a graduate certificate in restorative justice.

The Professional Leave Program supports W&L’s strong commitment to lifelong learning and exploring new approaches to staff’s work.

Eligible employees must have completed five continuous years of full-time service.

Written proposals should be submitted to the executive director of Human Resources, through the department director and the dean/vice president to whom the administrator reports. The proposal should include:

  • The purpose of the leave
  • The benefit of the leave to the employee and to Washington and Lee University
  • Time frame for the leave
  • Anticipated expenses for the leave
  • A statement about how the work will be covered within the department
  • VP or dean approval

A maximum of three awards each year will be made. The award recipient has one year to use the professional leave. Recipients of the award will be eligible for support to enhance their project for up to $2,500.

If you know a W&L staff member who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.