Dear Chancellor Jones, Provost Cangellaris, and Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois,
Health insurance is a necessity. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is only more true.
In the United States alone, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports approximately 803,000 cases of COVID-19 and 45,000 reported deaths as of April 22.* Furthermore, COVID-19 will most likely remain a risk in the US beyond May 1.**
However, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign expects its graduate employees to go without health insurance over the summer months. The more than 2000 graduate employees without UIUC appointments over the summer must pay $696 to extend their healthcare coverage over this period, an amount that is an extreme burden to workers without summer work. Fee-waiver generating appointments have always been scarce during the summer semester. UIUC’s large number of international graduate employees have limited options for summer work off-campus due to federal restrictions. And this summer, graduate students overall are seeing their summer job and research options dissolve due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leaving graduate employees without affordable healthcare over the summer months, when we know that COVID-19 will still be circulating in the US population, will put graduate employee lives at risk, while potentially burdening others with substantial medical debt. Moreover, this is a public health issue for the larger community of Urbana-Champaign: as a major employer in the area, the University has a responsibility to the wellbeing of its entire community.
As faculty and academic employees at UIUC, we call on the University to cover graduate student health insurance premiums during the summer of 2020 for those who do not have a summer appointment by the end of their spring 2020 coverage. Additionally, we call on the University to revoke the 33% increase in student health insurance fees for AY 2020-21.
Certain departments are currently working to fund summer appointments for all of their graduate employees so that their health care fees will be waived. However, this burden should NOT fall on individual departments when this is a university-wide, structural problem. ALL graduate students should have access to health insurance in Summer 2020, regardless of department affiliation; and ALL students should not be burdened by further healthcare costs in AY 2020-21. No one should be left vulnerable to COVID-19.
The undersigned campus community stakeholders insist that UIUC ensure the health and survival of its graduate employees by covering graduate student health insurance over summer 2020 and by revoking the healthcare fee hike for AY 2020-21. During these unprecedented times, it is our duty to take care of our colleagues, our students, and each other.
Sincerely,
The Graduate Employees Organization (GEO 6300 AFT/IFT Local)
Non-Tenure Faculty Coalition (NTFC 6546 AFT/IFT/AAUP Local)
The Campus Faculty Association (CFA) of UIUC
And the following individuals:
Alexis King Graduate Research Assistant
Tina Schweizer Graduate Research Assistant
Carol Symes Associate Professor, Associate Chair, and Director of Graduate Studies, Dept. of History
Abhishek Joshi PhD Student, Phsyics
Dana Rabin Professor and Chair Department of History
Amanda Ciafone
Assistant Professor of Media and Cinema Studies
Doron Leonardo Grossman-Naples
PhD Student
Kathryn Oberdeck
Associate Professor, History
Krystal Smalls
Asst Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, UIUC
Aravinda Garimella
Assistant Professor
Rachel Braz Arcanjo Graduate Student - Animal Sciences
Chelsea Birchmier
Graduate Employee, Psychology Department
Helen Neville Professor Ed Psych and African American Studies
Aleena Khan
Graduate Employee at UIUC
Charlotte Hunt
UIUC alumna
Kirstie Simson
Associate Professor, Department of Dance
Rachel Barnett
PhD Student, Mathematics
Brenda Farnell
Professor and Head, Department of Anthropologyy
Markera
Graduate Student
Clara Bosak-Schroeder
Assistant Professor of Classics, UIUC
Matthew S. Winters
Associate Head for Graduate Programs, Department of Political Science
Cassandra Rosado
Senior Lecturer, Linguistics Department
Ashli Anda
Grad student, Philosophy Dept. UIUC
Rachel Shulman
Academic Coordinator, MIT Energy Initiative/UIUC MA '07, MS '08
Aidan Watson-Morris
Teaching Assistant, UIUC
Kristen Ann Ehrenberger, MD (2016) PhD (History, 2014)
Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Resident, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Justine S. Murison
Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in English
Paul Prior
Professor, Department of English
Lindsay Rose Russell
Associate Professor of English and Writing Studies
Robert Markley
Trowbridge Professor and Head, Department of English
Nicole Allen
Professor, Psychology
Anne Haas Dyson
Professor, College of Education
Mark Stephen Aber
Associate Professor, Associate Head and Director of Undergraduate Studies
Jeremiah Heller
Assistant Professor, Math Department
Vesna Stojanoska
Assistant Professor, Mathematics
Brian Jefferson
Associate Professor, Associate to the Head, and Graduate Director of Geography and GIS
Meghan Bohardt
Nick Goodell
UIUC Alum
Dennis Dullea
Senior Instructor, Dept of English
Tyran Russell
Clinical Assistant Professor; Urban & Regional Planning
Anita Chan
Associate Professor, iSchool and College of Media
Maryam Kashani
Assistant Professor, Gender & Women's Studies and Asian American Studies
Shawn Gilmore
Senior Lecturer (English, UIUC)
Michael Odom
Senior Lecturer and Specialized Faculty Assistant Director or Rhetoric, English Department
Melissa Ocepek
Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences
Jane Desmond
Professor of Anthropology
Heather McLeer
Lecturer, Department of English
Faye V. Harrison
Professor & Graduate Academic Advisor of African American Studies & Professor of Anthropology
Akil Guruparan
Graduate Teaching Assistant, UIUC
Jodi A Byrd
Associate Professor, English / GWS, Illinois
Rose Kaczmarowski
Specialized Faculty, Theatre
Junaid Rana
Associate Professor, Department of Asian American Studies
Toby Beauchamp
Associate Professor, Gender & Women's Studies
James Hay
Research Professor, ICR & MACS (College of Media)
Jenny L. Davis
Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Bryan Dunne
Teaching Assistant Professor
Todd D. Johnson, Ph.D.
Alumnus of Department of Entomology
Paul Kenneth Rohde
MFA Studio Arts Grad Student, School of Art + Design
Jesann Gonzalez Cruz
Graduate Research Assistant, NRES
Anne Marie Esposito
Graduate Research Assistant, Chemistry
McKenzie Johnson
Assistant Professor, Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences
Ryan Griffis
Assoc. Professor, School of Art & Design
Logan Middleton
Graduate Employee, English (UIUC)
Rebecca Laurent
Graduate Student, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Hannah Ellingson
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Austin D. Hoffman
Research Assistant, Department of Anthropology
Guen Montgomery
Teaching Asst. Professor, Art and Design
Vicki Mahaffey
KIrkpatrick Professor of English and GWS
Alana Ackerman Graduate student and teaching assistant, Anthropology department
John Gallagher Assistant Professor of English
Daymon Kiliman Writing Center Director, Northwest Mississippi Community College
John Musser
Visiting Lecturer in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies - University of Pittsburgh
Amanda Bales
Lecturer, English, UIUC
Daniel Montgomery
President, Illinois Federation of Teachers
Ali Rasouli
PhD student
Emily Renne
Teaching Assistant, English
Independent Workers Party - Chicago
Founder
Soraya Cipolla
Graduate Student at University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Srinanda Ganguly
PhD student, Art History
Ming Kit Cheng
Graduate research assistant (UIUC)
David Johnson
Host of Labor's World View TV
Harriet Murav
Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor, UIUC
Dan Gilbert
Associate Professor (History & LER)
Matthew Byrd
Graduate Assistant, School of Information Sciences
Clarissa Goebel
Graduate student and teaching assistant, Department of Classics
Megan Mericle
Graduate Teaching Assistant, English, UIUC
Sarah-Elizabeth Deshaies
PhD Candidate, Educational Psychology
Robert Vodicka
Susan Aguinaga
Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health
Jessica R. Wells, PhD
Unaffiliated
Elias Decker
Undergraduate, UIUC
Marya Burke
Counselor, Parkland College
Paul Haker
Graduate Teaching Assistant, UIUC
Kealie Vogel
Graduate research assistant, NRES
Karen Aram
Lettycia Terrones
Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Information Science and Latina/o Studies
Rachel Birchmier
Graduate student, Rachel Birchmier
Claudia Grisales
Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant
Al Kagan
Professor of Library Administration Emeritus
Daniela Delgado Ramos
Graduate student and teaching assistant, Informatics department
Stephen Kaufman
Professor Emeritus, College of Medicine and Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
Matt Soyland
DVM Student
Susan Zhou
UC-Senate Senate Executive Committee Representative
George Vassilatos
Undergraduate, Anthropology
Rachel Harrison
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Astronomy
Shubhangi Rathor
Graduate Student, DURP, UIUC
Vismaya Jayakumar
Graduate Assistant at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UIUC
Daniela Gomez
PREDOC FELLOW; MUP; M.ARCH.
Shubhika Agarwal
Graduate Student
Martha Ann Larkin
Graduate Teaching Assistant English Department
Sarah Blanco
Graduate Student, Library and Information Science
Briana Gipson
Research-Assistant, Urban and Regional Planning
Djordje Takov
Graduate student and research assistant
Kristin Romberg
Assoc. Prof. of Art History
Sydney Anderson
Graduate Student, School for Information Sciences
David L Cooper
Associate Professor, Slavic
Bruce Kovanen
IFT Vice President
Matthew Haugen
Graduate Assistant and instructor
Erin Morris
Alumna '16 - PhD in Recreation, Sport and Tourism
Gabriel Malo
Teaching Assistant, MACS & PhD Student, ICR
Emmy Lingscheit
Associate Professor, School of Art + Design
Korinta Maldonado
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
Ellen Moodie
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Laura Shackelford
Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Anthropology
Cris Hughes
Clinical Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Jessica Greenberg
Associate Professor, Anthropology
Elisabeth Horan
MFA Studio Arts Grad Student and Teaching Assistant, School of Art + Design
Patricia Simpson, Ph. D.
Alumna, ILIR, UIUC
Dallas R. Trinkle
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Conor Murphy
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Art and Design
Renske M. van der Veen
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Patrick Burns
Ben Grosser
Assoc Professor, Art + Design
Kate Clancy
Associate professor of anthropology
Andrew Orta
Professor Department of Anthropology and Interim Director Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Katherine Hair
MFA Studio Arts Candidate
Valeria Sobol
Associate Professor and Head, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Patrick Hammie
Associate Professor, School of Art + Design
Siobhan Somerville
Associate Professor, English/Gender & Women's Studies; Chair, GWS
Trish Loughran
Associate Professor, English
Andrew Fink
Mr. T. Doug Olive
Editor, Writer & Artist, Community Volunteer
Lesley Owens
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of English
Jacob Foster
Graduate TA
Rudolf Haken
Professor of Music
Stephen Signa-Aviles
MFA Studio Arts Grad Student, School of Art + Design
Megan Davis
Doctoral Candidate, Graduate Assistant
Ruchir Agrawal
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Food Science and Human Nutrition Department
Tanya Josek
PhD, UIUC Alum
Brenna Decker
Alumna 2017, M.S. in Entomology
Cristina Gonzalez Martin
Predoctoral fellow
Ane Icardo Isasa
Senate Executive Committee Graduate Student Representative
Ben Joselyn
Program Coordinator in the School of Social Work UIUC
Ennio Nuila
Graduate Student/Teaching Assistant Spanish and Portuguese
Ander Beristain
PhD student and Graduate Teaching Assistant, Spanish and Portuguese
Amina Malik
Undergraduate student
Savannah Carter
Graduate Teaching Assistant & Advisor
Dawn Navejas
Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant
Andrea Herrera
UIUC Alum
Roderick Wilson
Assistant Professor, History Department & EALC Department
Kacie Gastanaga
PhD student Spanish & Portuguese
Dan Shao
Associate Professor, East Asian Languages and Cultures Department
Juan Alvarez
Teaching Assistant Professor, ECE
Robert Tierney
Head EALC
Jacqueline Yi
Graduate Research Assistant
Stanley Ambrose
Professor, Anthropology
Carileigh Jones
PhD Student, Sociology
Lisa Lucero
Professor, Anthropology
Julie Nieset
Wetland Ecologist, Illinois Natural History Survey
Merle L Bowen
Associate Professor, African American Studies
Chilin Shih
Associate Professor, EALC
Lyle Konigsberg
Professor of Anthropology
Ripan S. Malhi
Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Anthropology
Amanda Smith
Graduate Student in French
Joshua Dees
Graduate Teaching Assistant, ESL Writing
Aparecida Takigawa
Juan Suárez Ontaneda
Ph.D. Spanish and Portuguese
Jeeyoung Ahn Ha
Director of the Korean language program, EALC
Roberto Rojas Alfaro
Teaching Assistant
Dr. Maritza Quiñones
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Stuart Levy
Senior Research Programmer, NCSA
Alma Gottlieb
Professor Emerita, UIUC Dept. of Anthropology
Jamie L. Jones
Assistant Professor, Department of English
Brett Ashley Kaplan
Professor, Comparative and World Literatures
Josue David Cisneros
Associate Professor, Dept. of Communication
Anna-Maria Marshall
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
David O'Brien
Professor, Art and Design
Kristin Romberg
Associate Professor, Art History
Jamie Forde
Lecturer, Art History, UIUC
Erin Reitz
Assistant Professor, Art History
Lisa Rosenthal
Associate Professor, Art History Program, School of Art and Design
Josue David Cisneros
Associate Professor, Communication
Lisa Guntzviller
Associate Professor, Communication
Catalina Hernandez
PhD Student, Teaching Assistant, Art Education, Latino Latina Studies
Terri Weissman
Associate Professor, Art History
Cassidy Wagner
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Astronomy
Lilah A. Leopold
TA, RA, PhD Student, Art History
Gonzalo Pinilla
Teaching Assistant
Sierra Hall
MA Student, Art History
Elisabeth Bigsby
Assistant Professor
Sharayah Cochran PhD Student, Art History
Kiri Palm Teaching Assistant, iSchool at UIUC
Laurie Hogin
Director of Graduate Studies School of Art and Design
Kathryn La Barre
Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences
Curtis Perry
Professor of English
Carol Tilley
Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences
Chantal Nadeau
Professor, Gender & Women's Studies
Spencer D. C. Keralis
Assistant Professor, Digital Humanities Librarian
Piper Martin
Reference Services & Instruction Librarian, Asst Professor
Kathryn McDonald
MS/LIS Student
Emilee Mathews
Assistant Professor, Head of Ricker Library of Architecture & Art
Kathleen McDowell
Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences
* Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Cases of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in the U.S,” Center for Disease Control and Prevention, April 20, 2020,
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html ** Armus, Teo, et al., “Live updates: Deaths suggest coronavirus was spreading in U.S earlier than previously thought; CDC director warns of devastating second wave,” Washington Post, April 22, 2020,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/04/22/coronavirus-latest-news/