Religious Accommodation
September 20, 2021
Dear Colleagues,
I sent a link to CUNY’s policy on religious accommodation in my email on the calendar at the end of August, but the “Religious & Ethnic Holidays Calendar” from CUNY’s Interfaith Council is new to me and perhaps to you. Apologies for the late send. DS
From: Dan Lemons, Executive Vice Chancellor & University Provost and Denise Maybank, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management
Dear Colleagues,
We are writing today with an important reminder that we encourage you to share with your college community regarding the CUNY Policy on Religious Accommodations.
As we enter our new academic year, we ask members of our faculty, staff, and administration to be mindful of our University’s abiding commitment to accommodating religious observances and making the necessary arrangements for students.
CUNY’s policy on religious accommodation allows for students to request and be granted academic and attendance accommodations on the basis of religious belief. A link to the policy is posted below:
As a frame of reference for anticipating student requests for religious accommodations, CUNY’s Interfaith Council has developed the following “Religious & Ethnic Holidays Calendar,” which serves as a helpful resource https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/saem/religions-ethnic-holiday-calendar/. This collaborative effort of faith leaders associated with our university gives us a good base of information for expanding our knowledge of important observances and confirming student requests for accommodations. Please be mindful, the observance of some holidays may impact activity on days immediately prior to or following the official date. While not necessarily an exhaustive list, the Calendar highlights the following days of religious observance in the month of September.
| Religious Holidays September 2021 | ||
| Sikh | Gur-Gaddi Guru Granth Sahib | September 1st, 2021 |
| Jewish | Rosh Hashanah | evening of September 6 – evening of September 8, 2021 |
| Hindu | Ganesh Chaturthi | September 10th, 2021 |
| Jewish | Yom Kippur | evening of September 15 – evening of September 16, 2021 |
| Jewish | Sukkot (beginning days) | evening of September 20 – evening of September 22, 2021 |
| Jewish | Sukkot (middle days) | evening of September 22 – evening of September 27, 2021 |
| Jewish | Sukkot (ending days) & Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah | evening of September 27 – evening of September 29, 2021 |
For any questions about CUNY’s policy on religious accommodations, please contact Chris Rosa, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Inclusion Initiatives at christopher.rosa@cuny.edu.
Thank you for your support, and for your enduring commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at CUNY.
Sincerely,
Dan Lemons, Executive Vice Chancellor & University Provost
Denise Maybank, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management