University Times

Professors seeking redress for alleged grievances and unjust denials of promotion and/or tenure face an uphill fight at Pitt, the co-chairperson of the University Senate's tenure and academic freedom committee (TAFC) told Faculty Assembly Oct. 6. But Tom Kane, whose committee is a key player and defender of faculty interests in the grievance procedure and […]

During the last decade, 26 Pitt faculty members have appealed what they saw as unjust decisions to deny them promotions and/or tenure. According to Provost's office records (which do not identify the individuals involved), only two appellants won their cases: * In a 1991 case, then-Provost Donald Henderson overruled a dean's decision and recommended that […]

Pitt's 1998 United Way campaign kicked off yesterday with a breakfast for coordinators held at the William Pitt Union. The campaign will continue through Nov. 25. This year's goal is $500,000. Last year, the University collected just over $474,000, surpassing the 1997 goal by $32,000. The 1998 theme is "Make a world of difference in […]

Faculty at Pitt's Johnstown campus won't be allowed to take sabbaticals next year. UPJ's administration imposed the no-sabbaticals policy to avoid a faculty shortfall, campus president Albert Etheridge told the University Times. UPJ will lose four of its 130 full-time teaching faculty during the current academic year and 11 more next year through the University's […]

Faculty, staff and administrators exchanged ideas about Pitt's policy for awarding salary raises, during the fall plenary session of the University Senate yesterday, Oct. 14. The University Planning and Budgeting Committee (UPBC), a group of employees, students and administrators that advises the senior administration, is beginning a year-long review of the policy. "The time has […]

UPMC Health System's Center for Sports Medicine is one of seven U.S. sports medicine centers cited by SELF magazine as being "on the cutting edge of research and treatment." SELF lists the leading centers in its October issue. The center is the Pittsburgh region's largest and most comprehensive sports medicine program. Christopher Harner, professor of […]

Today, Oct. 15, is the deadline for health insurers to submit bids for Pitt's employee medical insurance business for next year. The University's current insurers, UPMC Health Plan and Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield, had expressed interest in bidding. So had CIGNA Companies, a national insurer with a growing presence in western Pennsylvania. "We sent out […]

Pitt's Katz Graduate School of Business has opened an umbrella institute to manage activities of three of its centers. The Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence was established to consolidate support for entrepreneurs from start-up to mature businesses. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC), established at Katz in 1979, and the Family Enterprise Center (FEC), established in […]