Faculty and students may be returning to class the Tuesday—rather than the traditional Thursday—after Labor Day in 1994, Dean Edie N. Goldenberg told LS&A faculty members last Monday.
Goldenberg added she believes a faculty and staff committee should look at the academic calendar and a number of issues related to it, including a concern among some that terms are too short.
Discussions about the academic calendar are under way in preparation for the provost to make his recommendations to the Regents this spring, reported Goldenberg, who asked that if faculty foresee any problems with returning to class two days early that they contact her or Provost Gilbert R. Whitaker Jr. soon.
The U-M is one of the few universities that starts fall term after Labor Day, Goldenberg noted.
Donald J. Lewis, professor and chair of mathematics, said a number of years ago faculty suggested to then-President Harlan Hatcher that the term be extended to 17 weeks. He also observed that Labor Day in Michigan appears to be more of a religious day of obligation than Christmas.
