University Times

The Staff Association Council (SAC) is soliciting feedback on the newly implemented PRISM TRKS (time record-keeping system). SAC officials are urging staff to forward all concerns — large and small — to the SAC office via email, sac@pitt.edu.

SAC will forward the comments and questions to the Human Resources system administrators, then post a summary of all the issues raised and the responses on its web site, www.sac.pitt.edu.

In a change implemented this month, all Pitt classified staff, regular full-time and regular part-time, exempt and non-exempt, must log their hours worked and time off online weekly. (See Oct. 1 University Times.)

SAC President Gwen Watkins said, “The time to give us your concerns is now, because the system is just getting started and there will be some kinks that the PRISM TRKS team should be aware of.”

Also at its Jan. 13 meeting, SAC welcomed eight new associate members. New members serve for six months as non-voting associates who serve on one or more of SAC’s standing committees.

The new members are: Natalie Blais, Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH); Monica Costlow, Department of Health Policy and Management, GSPH; Elaine Devlin, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, School of Medicine; Diane Fleishman, Continuing Dental Education, School of Dental Medicine; Sunny Fulton, Institutional Advancement; Carol Neuner, Department of Administrative and Policy Studies, School of  Education; Lynn Rosen, Career Development Office, Student Affairs, and Jennifer Sample, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Swanson School of Engineering.

Neuner, a former SAC vice president for steering, returns to council for the first time since she resigned in 2005.

A new member orientation lunch is set for noon-2 p.m. Feb. 3 in WPU Dining Room A.

In other SAC developments:

• Rick Fabean, chair of the safety and security committee, reported that SAC-sponsored CPR classes are set for Feb. 27. The cost for staff members is $40. For information and registration, contact the SAC office at sac@pitt.edu or 4-4236.

• SAC is hosting a representative of Life Solutions, who will lead a workshop on managing stress, noon-1:30 p.m. Feb. 2 in WPU Dining Room A.

This is the first in a series of brown bag lunches for staff. Another lunch will feature a representative from the Port Authority of Allegheny County who will field questions on the bus route changes scheduled to begin in March. The Port Authority brown bag lunch date has not yet been set.

• Pam Weid reported that the salary and job classification committee is drafting two letters for SAC approval. One is the council’s annual request to Human Resources that HR continue to benchmark peer organizations for potential adjustments in the salary range for Pitt’s job families.

The second letter is SAC’s annual recommendation to the chancellor on salary increases. Both letters must be approved by the steering committee and the full SAC membership.

• Karen Zellers, co-chair of the program and planning committee, reported that SAC’s holiday book drive to aid the Alliance for Infants and Toddlers netted almost 400 donated new and slightly used books.

In addition, SAC’s holiday adopt-a-family drive brought in clothing and $300 worth of gift cards for a single mother and her three children, Zellers said.

• SAC has contracted with Little Kelpie, a local studio specializing in web site creation and design, to manage the council’s web site upgrades, Annabelle Clippinger, vice president of marketing and communication, reported. She noted that the SAC web site now has a stronger presence on Pitt’s web site, with a link on the Faculty/Staff section on Pitt’s home page.

Treasurer Angie Coldren said that SAC is paying for the web site redesign with funds saved by converting the SAC newsletter to an online format. SAC is accepting online subscriptions to the newsletter via a link on its web site.

• SAC plans a July celebration of the group’s 40th anniversary. Details will be forthcoming.

—Peter Hart