On the second floor of the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights, Grace Sanborn ‘25 was making phone calls, restocking blue book exam papers and designing event posters — typical tasks for the Government and Law department assistant. Sanborn, however, was not the department assistant.
Sanborn was one of several temporary workers brought in to help the department after its longtime office assistant retired in December. At least 11 offices across campus entered the new year without an office assistant after the college’s finance division, without consulting the offices, offered an early-retirement package to an untold number of staff toward the end of the fall semester.
The facilities department also saw multiple retirements among custodial staff, according to Assistant Vice President of Operations Geoff Labe. He did not share how many retired or whether staffing levels would return to their previous size, though he noted the college had “carefully” planned to “ensure continuity of positions and work.”…