Senate Council

Minutes

October 7, 2002

University of Pittsburgh
Senate Council Meeting
Minutes of October 7, 2002

President Cassing called the meeting to order at 3:05 PM.

The minutes of the Senate Council meeting on September 11, 2002 were approved as written.

President Cassing asked for new items of business for the meeting. There were none.

Remarks of the Chancellor, Mark A. Nordenberg

In the absence of the Chancellor, who was pursuing university interests in Harrisburg, Provost James Maher provided a report. He noted that there had been a number of nice events since the last Senate Council meeting.

The university has caught up with deferred maintenance, classroom upgrades, and new facilities. There have been events opening five new facilities in Oakland or nearby in the last month:

September 4, the Baierl Recreation Center in the Peterson Event Center.

September 5, Sennott Square (formerly the MPAC building), which houses the College of Business Administration, the departments of Psychology and Computer Science, and the clinics of the Law School. The opening of this building will allow renovation of other spaces.

September 26, the McGowan Center for Regenerative Medicine.

October 2, the library facility on Thomas Boulevard, which provides storage facilities and houses some technical and preservation staff. As books are moved to this building, Hillman will become more of a resource place.

October 9, Hillman Cancer Center of UPMC. Half of this building will be rented by the Medical School for faculty in cancer research.

There have been a number of advances in academic programs.

The International Business Center of UCIS and the Katz School won a four-year renewal of its grant from the Department of Education.

Professor Graham Hatfull of the Department of Biological Sciences was selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as one of its 20 “Million Dollar Professors” to create inventive science education programs.

Professor Carson Chow of the Department of Mathematics received a grant from the National Institute of Health to model acute inflammatory disease.

The research on photonics of Professor David Snoke of the Physics Department was recently summarized in the Post Gazette.

Professor Peter Wipf of the Department of Chemistry received a major award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for his work in combinatorial chemistry.

The Chancellor and the Provost visited regional campuses over the weekend. They went to Titusville for the Dedication of the Helene Barco Duratz Plaza. Mr. Duratz has been a generous donor to Pitt. The Chancellor then went to Johnstown campus for their 75th anniversary. The Provost went to the Bradford campus for a combined donor and homecoming event. The Provost observed that all the regional campuses are working hard for the development of the university.

When Professor Hershey was president, the Senate requested that the administration develop a fast track alternative for grievance procedures. The General Counsel has developed a draft for such a procedure, which the Chancellor has forwarded to President Cassing. He reiterated that this alternative was drafted at the request of the Senate and that the current process has not been eliminated.

Questions and Comments

Professor Peterson thanked the Provost for his visit to Titusville. She also suggested that the meeting room contain pictures of the branch campuses.

Report of the President of the Senate, James H. Cassing

President Cassing announced that Professor Nicholas Bircher had won the runoff election for Senate Vice President. He thanked the former vice president, Tom Metzger, for his admirable service.

The Faculty Assembly is involved in a number of activities. At the last meeting there were reports from the Benefits and Welfare Committee and the Computer Usage Committees. There will be reports to the Senate Council later on some of these issues.

They are working on coordinating dates for the Academic Calendar for 2003-04.

He received the proposed expedited grievance process from the Provost. It will be reviewed first by the Committee on Tenure and Academic Freedom.

A Policy on Patent Rights and Technology Transfer has been developed by Vice Provost Klinzing’s office and will be reviewed by the Committee on Tenure and Academic Freedom.

There will be no plenary session in the fall, but one next March.

The Executive Committee will meet soon with the Mr. William Dietrich, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, in what Professor Cassing hopes will become an annual event.

The Faculty Assembly will move forward on the agenda discussed by Vice President Metzger at the last Senate Council meeting. In November, Faculty Assembly hopes to receive the report of the review committee on the University’s Planning and Budgeting Process. The next meeting of UPBC will be in late October.

Report of Student Members of Senate Council

Student Government Board

Mr. Kevin Washo, President of the SGB reported on the Pittsburgh Project. On Saturday, October 5, 400 student volunteers worked to clean up Oakland. He thanked Vice Provost Pack for attending this event. The Voter Rights campaign had a goal of registering 3000 students, but only got 2200. Now they are working on getting out the vote in November. Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln students will hold a “lobby day” in Harrisburg in late October. The SGB holds it meetings in different locations on campus to bring the organization closer to various student groups. The next meeting will be in Benedum Hall. The agenda for the year will include government relations, communication and safety.

Questions and Answers

Professor Hershey encouraged SGB to continue with voter registration even though it is too late for the November elections. Registering now will permit the students to vote in the May primaries.

CGS Cabinet

Ms. Costigan announced that her organization was holding a “Friends and Family Day” on November 9. There will be discounted football tickets and events for those who work. Since most CGS students work, they are not able to participate in many student events. This will give them a chance to participate and also let their children find out where their parent(s) go to school. CGS has a volunteer activity with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Nine CGS students are now on Senate committees.

Graduate and Professional Students Association

Schools of the Professions

Mr. Amoe said that his organization has not met yet.

GPSA

Ms. Langton reported that their first social event, a Pirate game, was rained out. Their second event will be the annual party at the Attic on November 7. They are working on a cultural event such as the symphony or the opera. The memorial for John Carney, a deceased law student, will be held on November 2 before a Law School function. The GPSA has some supplemental funds that can be allocated back to school groups for activities or travel.

Health Sciences

Mr. Nick Soulakis reported that his group was off to a slow start. They will be stressing research activities more than social ones. They are planning a Pan Health event. Because of the importance of physical activity, they will participate in the Snowboard and Ski Club events.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Mr. Tarpley reported that the FAS graduate students had a party at Metropol on September 13; four hundred attended. They are conducting a survey on recycling at Pitt. The election for new officers would be held this Monday evening. If this is his last Senate Council meeting, he would like to thank everyone.

Report of the President of the Staff Association Council, Ms. Barbara J. Mowery

Ms. Mowery mentioned that she attended the Titusville dedication and that the new plaza makes the campus more attractive. On October 28 there will be a staff assembly on the topic “Who Moved My Cheese.” It will be led by a representative from the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program. This topic is important in light of recent layoffs of long-term staff. They are working on issues such as safety and parking and the fact that salary ranges for job classifications were not increased this year.

Questions and Answers

Regarding safety, Mr. Soulakis mentioned there are several cross walks on the upper campus that need to be repainted. They represent a pedestrian hazard. Professor Cassing said there are several places on campus that could be made safer and commended the green cross-walk signs. Mr. Cochran pointed out that some of these are city issues and involve the Public Works union. The green signs are the result of a special deal on the part of the State Attorney General’s Office.

Reports by and Announcements of Standing and Special Committee of the Senate

There were no reports.

New Business

There was no new business.

Announcements

Professor Cassing announced that the next Faculty Assembly meeting would be on November 5 and the next Senate Council meeting would be on November 11.

11. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 3:53 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Josephine E. Olson, Secretary