Amidst a deficit budget dilemma, the college decided to limit sabbatical leaves for 2025 to four, compared to the eight approved just last year.

“It’s not a question of the value of sabbaticals, it’s a question about how we responsibly fund them,” President of El Camino College Brenda Thames said.

On Tuesday, May 19, the Academic Senate met and discussed budgeting regarding the faculty sabbaticals.

Sabbatical leaves are extended, authorized leaves from work, that can range from a few weeks to a few months, where employment status remains.

“Reading the tea leaves on this next budget, I think it will be more than four…I can tell you it’s not going to be 12; my goal is to at least get back to eight, but I’m not going to promise that because that would be irresponsible,” Thames said.

Thames hopes to see the number of sabbatical leaves increase in the next few years. “Sabbaticals are an important part of the academy; it is vital to faculty development,” she said.

ECC works alongside the Budget Strategies Leadership Team to ensure time is given to educators to go on breaks.

Kristie Daniel-DiGregorio, a full-time professor of human development, took a full-time sabbatical leave in the spring 2020 semester.

Daniel-DiGregorio advocates for the right to a sabbatical leave and expresses the joy that came from her time away and the help it provides.

“It’s a great opportunity to be reminded what it’s like to be a leader again… building empathy for students,” said Daniel-DiGregorio.

During Daniel-DiGregorio’s sabbatical, she was able to build a foundation to develop two new courses that enhance students’ development, their careers, and overall clarity.

Human Development Classes (HDEV)120 and 595: Service Learning for Social Problems and Introduction to Work Experience are the two new classes developed by Daniel-DiGregorio.

HDEV-120 will be offered in the fall 26’ school year, while HDEV-595 will be offered in the summer.

Bruce Peppard, English professor, helped develop affordable English textbooks for students while he took a sabbatical.

Peppard allocated ways to help students with specific financial plans to ensure they have the same opportunities as those who don’t go through any financial struggles.

“Students rarely have books on day one, and that is key. There are often weeks without textbooks; students on financial aid, in particular, were already behind because they couldn’t get textbooks fast enough,” said Peppard