University Times

Pitt’s senior administration grabs most of the headlines. The faculty here get noticed when they bring in research dollars, win teaching awards or publish in their fields.

But behind the scenes, University staff, some 7,200 strong across five campuses, often toil in jobs ranging from the mundane to the esoteric.

From mailroom workers to data entry specialists, costume designers to biosafety officers,  photographers to accountants, staff at Pitt perform tasks great and small, year-in and year-out, for the greater good of the University.

This is one in an occasional series profiling University staff, providing a glimpse of some of the less recognized employees whose primary business is making Pitt work.

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Deborah L. Walker has worn many hats in her 27 years at Pitt, from campus security guard to campus police officer to assistant director of community standards in the Office of Residence Life, to director of the RISE mentoring program, to student conduct officer in the Division of Student Affairs.

As student conduct officer, a post she has held since 2007, Walker oversees the Office of Student Conduct and recruits and trains some 35 volunteer administrative hearing officers. She also determines the level of alleged student behavior offenses — minor, level 1 or the most serious, level 2 violations — and ensures due process for students accused of violating the Judicial Code of Conduct.

Walker said it’s Pitt’s education benefits that have enabled her to transition smoothly over the years from one position to another.

In addition to holding Pennsylvania Act 120 certification from the Allegheny County Police Academy as part of her campus police training, she has earned a BA in administration of justice and legal studies from the College of General Studies and a Master of Public Policy Management from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

During her days on the campus police force — including a prominently visible stint as the police department’s community relations officer — Walker helped develop several departmental crime prevention programs, including Operation Campus Watch and the residence officer program, a program in which residence hall students collaborate with the Pitt police on issues of safety and security.

For her efforts she received a 2002 Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award for Staff.

But there’s more: This busy Pitt staffer also has served on the Pitt Alumni Association board (2000-04) and the Pitt Community Research Advisory Board since 2005. In the spring she was re-elected to the Alumni Association board for a two-year term as a director-at-large. She joined the Staff Association Council in May.

In her capacity as student conduct officer, Walker has addressed conferences in Pittsburgh; Washington, D.C.; Seattle, and this past summer in Oxford, U.K. (See related story, this issue.)

Outside the University, Walker helped initiate the FBI-sponsored adopt-a-school program, which takes crime prevention education into local public schools. She has served on the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, 2002-04, and since 2005 on the Pittsburgh Citizen Review Board. Currently, she also is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice and Intelligence Studies at Point Park.

She has been honored for her community service activities by the Urban League of Pittsburgh, the New Pittsburgh Courier, Renaissance Publications and the Pittsburgh Pirates; she also has been inducted into the Westinghouse High School Hall of Fame.

These seemingly disparate roles inside and outside the University nonetheless define a cohesive career path, Walker said. She draws on her experience in law enforcement and student advising, as well as her service on various boards.

“My law enforcement training has served me well, because a lot of what we do is very similar to law enforcement. It’s not the criminal justice system, but the Student Code of Conduct is similar. I do work very closely with General Counsel, our Counseling Center, our Student Health Center and other offices,” Walker said.

Student Conduct is a neutral group, she noted, taking neither the position of the complainant nor of the accused, but providing fair process and education for all parties.

“You’re looking at a situation that making a wrong decision and violating a student’s rights can create very serious implications for the student and for the University, so you really have to be on top of your game and know the laws and policies exactly.”

Those rules and policies are spelled out in great detail in the “Student Code of Conduct and Judicial Procedures,” which Walker’s office updates annually and distributes each fall to every student — undergraduates, graduate students and professional students alike. It also is posted online at www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/conduct/code.html.

One of Walker’s most important responsibilities is determining the level of a violation of the Student Code, which is triggered by a written, signed complaint from any member of the University community.

All told, in the 2009-10 academic year there were 299 incidents, including those off campus, reported to the Office of Student Conduct. Of these, 37 were level 1 and 62 were level 2 violations, with the rest labeled as minor infractions.

Allegations always are judged in the context of the circumstances surrounding an incident, such as potential danger to others, amount of property or other damage or cost to the University. Repeat offenses also are taken into account.

Most minor infractions, such as violating quiet time or other policies in a residence hall, are referred directly to the appropriate residence director in Residence Life, Walker explained.

Level 1 incidents are more serious, for example when a student age 21 or older is caught walking the streets of Oakland with an open container of alcohol, or when a student is accused of petty theft. Level 1 violations merit an administrative hearing by a hearing officer whom Walker designates.

“During the hearing my role is one of moderator. My job is to provide due process and make sure that our process is fair. I don’t get a vote. I’m like a judge. I answer any procedural questions,” she said, adding that her legal background and experience aids in this role. She also relies on the Association for Student Conduct Administration, of which Pitt is a member, for best practices, Walker said.

“In level 1 cases, students do not face suspension or expulsion, but could face sanctions. Every case is different,” Walker said.

If sanctions are recommended, students can accept the sanctions, or they can request a sanctions-only hearing to contest the sanctions or to have them reduced, she said.

Depending on the type and seriousness of a violation, sanctions range from community service or Counseling Center evaluation; fines; written reprimands that go into a student’s record; prohibition from contact with a specified individual, technology resources or a Pitt facility, or termination of specific privileges — all the way up to suspension or permanent expulsion for level 2 violations, such as physical or sexual assault, possessing large quantities of drugs or multiple alcohol offenses.

A student charged with a level 2 offense first meets with Walker to discuss the alleged offense or offenses, then has a hearing before the Judicial Board, which has jurisdiction over serious violations of the Student Code of Conduct. Three board members, appointed by the dean of students, adjudicate each level 2 case. Currently, the board has 49 hearing officers to draw from — 39 faculty and staff members and 10 students.

At a preliminary conference, Walker answers any procedural questions and guides the accused student through completion of a response form, wherein the student may waive the right to a hearing and accept any recommended sanctions, or proceed to the Judicial Board hearing. At the Judicial Board hearing, students may conduct their own defense or be represented by a non-attorney from within the Pitt community.

Judicial Board decisions can be appealed to the University Review Board, a standing group of 15 members of the University — five faculty members, five graduate and professional students and five undergraduates, who serve two-year terms.

Some cases merit follow-up action, Walker said. “If the student is in a residence hall, then the residence directors will keep an eye on the student. If there is a student I’m concerned about, I’ll do follow-ups. Also, once a student has been referred to another student support office, our referral agent will follow up with me,” she said.

While Walker’s role primarily is that of administrator, sometimes that morphs into part adviser, part den mother.

Walker’s involvement with some of these students doesn’t end with the judicial system. She noted, “I even invite some of them to lunch, because I want them to focus, to make sure that they’re matriculating toward graduation, that we won’t have a problem with retention because of an incident. We want to make sure that academically they’re okay, and socially as well,” Walker said.

One student recently was sanctioned for an alcohol incident, Walker said. “She wanted to be involved in the medical field. There is a department in the Graduate School of Public Health I knew was looking for people, and I connected her with them. Not only did she satisfy her community service requirements, but she stayed on afterwards for months to volunteer. And that helped her gain a job for the summer working in her field,” Walker said. “I’ll use my involvement outside the University, boards that I sit on, to connect students to. Often that will decrease the chances of them getting into trouble.”

Her office also provides disciplinary clearances as requested for scholarships, study-abroad opportunities, graduate school admission and employment.

Walker advises students who have infractions on their records not to conceal that information when applying to grad school or for employment.

“A lot of admissions officers are sensitive to the fact that young students might make a mistake. What I tell students is the time for disclosure is during the application process,” she said. Don’t compound that mistake by lying about it, she urges.

As part of her responsibility, Walker is well-versed in the reporting regulations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as well as the Clery Act, which requires all universities receiving federal financial aid to record and disclose information about crime on and near their campuses.

“We’ll only talk to parents if the student gives us permission in writing. Surprisingly, the majority of students will give us permission. I think that’s a change in generations. The millennial students, with the helicopter parents, are closer to their parents. The parents help them,” said Walker.

“Working with parents is a very great support mechanism. If we can get a parent working with us to help us in a positive way to turn a student around, that’s a win-win for everybody,” she said.

“Those of us in Student Affairs, that’s our lifeline, that’s our blood, that we care for the development of the student inside and outside of the classroom. To see parents and students come back to you the next semester and say, ‘Thank you. Thank you so much for helping our son or daughter’ — that’s very satisfying.

“And when we receive letters from them, it’s wonderful.”

—Peter Hart