University of Pittsburgh
Senate Council Meeting
Minutes of April 7, 2003

1. President Cassing called the meeting to order at 3:02 PM.
2. The minutes of the Senate Council meeting on March 10 were approved as written.
3. President Cassing asked for new items of business for the meeting. There were none.
4. Report of the Chancellor, Mark A. Nordenberg:
In the absence of the Chancellor, Provost Maher presented the report.
· He asked for a moment of silence in memory of Robert Lee (Rob) Penny, associate professor of Africana Studies and playwright-in-residence at Kuntu Repertory Theatre. Penny died March 16 of a heart attack; he was 62.
· Julian Bond, civil rights activist and chair of the NAACP, delivered the inaugural lecture of the University's Center on Race and Social Problems on March 26 at Alumni Hall. Bond's appearance was to highlight the work of the Center, established earlier this academic year to conduct scholarly research on race and its influence on quality of life for Americans of the 21st Century.
· Ford Motor Company is partnering with the university to establish the Ford Institute for Human Security. Directed by Professor Simon Reich of GSPIA, the institute is located within the Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, a joint center of GSPIA and UCIS. The new institute is to address a broad set of challenges to human freedoms and international security.
· The book version of US News and World Report's latest rankings (America's Best Graduate Schools) was just released: The School of Law was ranked 51st in the top 100 law schools. The Katz Graduate School of Business is now ranked 50th (after dropping from the rankings last year). The School of Nursing tied for 10th. (Nursing-Anesthesia, a specialty not previously ranked by the magazine, tied for 6th in the country.) The School of Engineering moved up to #52. School of Education continues to be in the top 50.
· Trustee Dick Thornburgh and his wife, Ginny, (recent recipients of the Henry B. Betts Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities) have donated a $50,000 prize to the university to establish the Thornburgh Family Lecture Series in Disability Law and Policy (School of Law, SHRS, and in conjunction with the University Library System's Dick Thornburgh Archival Collection). Law, SHRS, and the Chancellor's Office will contribute funds to match the award, creating a $100,000 endowment.
· Six university professors will be honored April 30th at the 7th annual Carnegie Science Center Awards for Excellence 2003. Category winners are Joseph J. Grabowski, associate professor in the chemistry department (University/Post-Secondary Education Award); Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and associate vice chancellor (Biomedical Award); and Alan Russell, founding director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, executive director of the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, and professor of surgery and chemical and petroleum engineering at the School of Engineering (Catalyst Award). Honorable mention awards will go to John Mellors, chief of infectious diseases and professor of medicine, pathology, and infectious diseases and microbiology in the School of Medicine (Biomedical category); Arthur Levine, senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine, and Margaret "Maggie" McDonald, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs for the health sciences (Levine and McDonald both in Catalyst category).
· Pitt epidemiologist Lewis H. Kuller was honored with Festschrift on March 28 and 29, celebrating three decades of contributions to the understanding and prevention of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular.
· Office of Public Affairs recently received 11 awards at the 2002 Council for the Advancement and Support of Education District II ceremony. The awards were given for work done in Pitt Magazine, Pitt Med, Pitt Chronicle, and various materials produced by University Marketing Communications.
· GSPIA recently opened a Graduate Center for Public Policy and Management in Skopje, Macedonia, after a decade of joint planning with university, government, and business leaders in the US and Macedonia.
· The Charity Randall Theatre opened April 4th, following a $2 million renovation project made possible through the Charity Randall Foundation. This is first comprehensive reconstruction of the Stephen Foster Memorial Auditorium since it opened in 1937.
· Julie d'Itri, associate professor of chemical and petroleum engineering, has received a Fulbright Award to teach and study at the Shuit Institute of Catalysis at Eindhoven University of Niemantsverdeit in the Netherlands this fall.
· University Library System has established the Archive of European Integration (AEI), an e-print repository for literature related to integration in Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries. The AEI will make publicly available policy, working, and conference papers pertaining to some aspect of European integration. This is the second discipline-based e-print archive at ULS (the Philosophy of Science archive was launched in 2001). AEI is hosted by ULS and cosponsored by the European Union Studies Association and the Center for West European Studies and European Union Center.
· Pitt men's basketball team won the Big East Championship this year and, for the second year in a row, made it to the "Sweet 16" round of the NCAA championships (losing there to Marquette). The team's overall record was 28-5.
· The university has been working all year on health insurance renewal. A lot has happened in the five years during which the university had not had a premium increase. The increase for this year was expected to be 65 to 70 percent if no changes were made. Various committees have been working very hard to try to maintain the same coverage and the plan to be announced next week represents a good renewal in terms of coverage. Mr. Cochran, who worked with the Senate Benefits and Welfare Committee, UPBC, and a special medical advisory committee, led the effort. It was hard to provide information on the new plan early because negotiations went on with intensity until the end. In a couple of weeks the Human Resource office will mail out information on the options. There will be “sticker shock” but it represents as good a deal as anyone can get and is attractive compared to the norm.
Questions and Comments
Professor Hershey questioned whether there had been no increases in five years. Mr. Cochran replied that there had been no increases in amounts paid by employees for five years although costs to the University had increased.
Professor Cassing said this was a very important issue and the Senate and the UPBC participated in part of the process.
Mr. Colwell asked when the numbers would become public. Provost Maher said the information would be mailed on April 15.

5. Report of the President of the Senate, James H. Cassing
· Professor Cassing said that every year we recognize someone for outstanding service to the Senate. He consulted with many Senate members and it was clear that the choice for this year is Nathan Hershey. President Cassing then presented a plaque to Professor Hershey which read “For outstanding contributions to the University of Pittsburgh through service in the University Senate: Professor Nathan Hershey, 2003.”
· Ballots for Senate Officers and Faculty Assembly are out and are due April 21. Results will be announced in early May.
· The Plenary Session was held on March 19 on the issue of health benefits. The speaker was Professor Sherman Folland and the panel members were Professors Bircher, Hershey and MacLeod. Professor Cassing thanked the Chancellor for participating and observed that these sessions are an opportunity to get issues out.
· There is now an email hookup or listserv for university senate presidents at the AAU universities. It is funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies and may be a useful way of getting information from other senates.
· At its meeting last week, Faculty Assembly passed a resolution introduced by the Senate Committee on Anti-discriminatory Policies. The motion reads: The Senate Committee on Anti-Discriminatory Policies moves that the Faculty Assembly again urge the administration to grant health benefits to domestic partners.
· At Tuesday’s Faculty Assembly meeting, Professor Pinsky reported that the Tenure and Academic Freedom Committee had rejected the fast tract grievance option submitted by the Provost’s office. The recommendation is to keep the present system, but that delays be addressed by the Provost’s office. A set of recommendations from TAFC will be presented at the next FA meeting for discussion. The final recommendations will then be forwarded to the provost for his consideration.
Questions and Answers
Professor Pinsky clarified that TAFC had not made an official decision yet. It would meet on Tuesday and make a decision then. Provost Maher asked the committee not to give him an unrealistic proposal for deadlines. He said faculty members want to do things right and may argue that they need more time to do so.

6. Report of Student Members of Senate Council
Student Government Board
Mr. Hutelmeyer reported for Mr. Washo. The SGB is working on organization budgets for next year. Elections for SGB are this week and the inauguration of new officers will be on April 17. All candidates for president are currently board members.
Graduate and Professional Students Association
Ms. Livia Langton reported on a number of research conferences held by graduate students on the various schools. GPSA will hold its Appreciation Day and inauguration of new officers later in the evening. This was the first time GPSA used on-line elections and they went well. Two of the new officers were Pitt undergraduates. She introduced the new president, Paul Danczyk from GSPIA.

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Mr. Jamie Tarpley reported that his organization held a reception at the Bossa Nova. FAS/GSO hosted the second annual Grad Expo conference, funded by the Provost’s office, where FAS students showcased their research interests.

7. Report of the President of the Staff Association Council, Ms. Barbara J. Mowery
Ms. Mowery reported that SAC officers met with Dr. Dietrich, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. It was a good meeting and they agreed to keep open lines of communication. SAC is continuing to work on issues of staff termination and classification. When the new health benefit options are announced, SAC wants to make certain that staff understand all the options. Elections of new officers will be held soon. Kennywood Day will be August 3.

8. Reports by and Announcements of Standing and Special Committees of the Senate
Community Relations Committee, Professor Tracy Soska, Chair
· Professor Soska said the committee wanted to give a follow-up report since the Plenary Session in spring 2001 on “The University in Civic Engagement: Service in the University Mission.” Four priorities came from the Senate Plenary Report: A) Improve campus dialog on and coordination of community service; B) Enhance discussion/inquiry linking service in teaching and research; C) Recognize and reward service scholarship and civic engagement; and D) Enhance service learning opportunities for students.
· In the absence of Dr. John Wilds, Professor Soska reported on the Community Outreach Service Database and Web Survey. He said the Provost has asked the deans to request their faculty to post their research and community service on an online database survey developed by the University Center for Social and Urban Research. Faculty and Administration will be able to access this database to see what kind of community service is going on. It can be used to inform the state legislature on research and service going on at Pitt, as well as helping the community access resources and expertise at Pitt. Professor Soska added that it is web-based and easy to update. He mentioned the development of a Nonprofit Technical Assistance Network developing across disciplines at the university and that the database might also capture this community service area.
· Professor Soska reported that CIDDE is strongly supporting service learning, and they have sponsored a number of workshops on the topic. Teaching Times also had an issue on service learning. Some Provost Innovations in Teaching awards went to service learning projects. CIDDE’s Board of Advisors is very interested in service learning.
· Pitt has a grant from HUD for a Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) now in its third and final year. The University is trying to institutionalize this initiative as a “center for civic engagement”, and Pitt’s efforts to institutionalize its COPC was featured in a recent HUD publication.
· The committee wants to explore the idea of an employee-assisted housing program for Oak Hill, Central and South Oakland, and Hazelwood. A new survey will be coming out shortly to survey Pitt and UPMC employees about interest in living where they work. Developing the homeowner versus the renter base in these neighborhoods is an important neighborhood revitalization strategy. Soska noted that the Oakland community groups are very supportive of the announced new on-campus student housing in hopes of lowering the student rental density in Oakland.
· The committee is looking into the idea of a Community Portal on Pitt’s website. This would allow the university to have more communications with the community and make the campus community more a part of the surrounding neighborhood. Issues such as local shopping and business needs, as well as community activities can be exchanged through this web-link.
· Students live in Oakland neighborhoods, including the new Oak Hill community, but they do not act as part of the community. The committee wants to get students more involved in their communities. One possibility is extending President Bush’s proposal to focus Work Study programs on community service internships through community organizations. Faculty will be needed to mentor students in community service and internships. Absentee landlord issues are still a problem in Oakland. Students did a study on Pier Street and absentee landlords. Residents and students working with the Oakland Community Council took absentee landlords to court to force them to maintain their property and won. The committee hopes to plan another Oakland cleanup in the fall when students return, as was done in 2001; last fall was a real disaster with furniture and trash throughout Oakland.
· The committee would like to have another plenary session in 2004 to celebrate service and build the dialogue in the area of “outreach scholarship” – integrating service with teaching and research through interdisciplinary scholarship and applied research. Making Pitt a place that recognizes and rewards this “scholarship” as we develop our university reputation in this growing field would be a plenary goal.
· Professor Maureen Porter (School of Education) and Eric Hartman (Outreach Coordinator) along with Michael Sandy (Center Director) presented a slide show on the Amizade Global Service Learning Center. The presentation underscored the four key recommendations of the aforementioned Senate Plenary report and demonstrated how the Global Service Center in exemplifying service learning that integrates service with teaching and research, as well as in promoting multi-cultural experiences and global learning opportunities for students in ways that enhance learning and leadership. As the presenters noted, Pitt has become one of the leading Research I Universities in terms of programming and scholarship in service learning from a global perspective. Professor Porter and Mr. Hartman stressed the resources of the Global Service-Learning Center to help faculty develop and modify courses for service learning in the international arena. They were concerned that student interest is outstripping faculty involvement in this effort, and faculty involvement was strongly encouraged. They also presented a long list of service learning classes across many academic disciplines that are being conducted in nearly a dozen countries in 2003.
Questions and Discussions
Professor Bircher asked about student outcomes and Professor Porter replied by discussing some of the research she has done on service learning.

9. New Business—There was no new business.

10. Announcements.
Professor Cassing announced the Faculty Assembly meeting on May 6 and the Senate Council meeting on May 12.

11. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Josephine E. Olson, Secretary