University Times

The Staff Association Council (SAC) last week approved bylaws changes regarding the council’s regular monthly meetings and redefined quorums for votes in its standing committees.

Most of the bylaws changes are cosmetic, said Meg Mayer-Costa, who chairs the governance committee. “We wanted to consolidate some of the language. Some of it was repetitive,” she said, noting that the approved changes are contained in Articles I-IV, while the committee continues to review Articles V-XII.

The bylaws changes include that regular monthly meetings, at the discretion of the president, now will be held on the second or third Wednesday of the month (previously SAC met on the second Wednesday).

The number of required monthly meetings, previously 10 per year, now is eight per year with a maximum of 12.

In addition, while 60 percent of the voting members still must be present at full membership meetings to constitute a quorum, a simple majority of committee members now constitutes a quorum at committee-level meetings.

At the Feb. 9 meeting members voted 38-1 to approve the changes. SAC President Gwen Watkins said that bylaws changes still are subject to final approval by the Office of General Counsel, which currently is reviewing them.

SAC also moved a step closer to approving a status change for two recently convened ad hoc committees.

Jesse Nicholson, chair of the ad hoc committee on diversity and inclusion, distributed a draft of the proposal to grant the committee standing committee status. SAC currently has nine standing committees and a steering committee, which is composed of officers, chairs and vice chairs.

Nicholson’s proposal states that the diversity and inclusion committee would:

• Support the overall mission of the University relating to diversity in all its forms;

• Act as a liaison with similar entities at the University, including the University Senate’s anti-discriminatory policies committee; the Office of Affirmative Action, Diversity and Inclusion, and the Office of Cross Cultural and Leadership Development;

• Review general issues related to fairness and respect for all members of the University community;

• Offer recommendations for developing and promoting diversity;

• Act as a resource for staff by providing information about relevant policies, procedures and laws;

• Sponsor workshops to promote acceptance, and

• Encourage communication among staff on matters relating to diversity and inclusion, including access, civil rights and equal opportunity.

Nicholson plans to bring the proposal to the next steering committee meeting and, if it is accepted, to call for a full membership vote at SAC’s March 9 meeting.

Regarding the ad hoc committee on staff mentoring, chair Deborah Walker said the idea behind that committee came from her own experiences over a 27-year career at Pitt.

“I’ve received a number of promotions during my career and this would not be possible if it weren’t for education. I’ve drafted a proposal based on reflecting on what helped me,” Walker said.

The committee would facilitate staff in professional development through peer mentorship by promoting the benefits of a well-trained workforce, she said. Specifically, the committee would promote the advantages to staff careers of Pitt’s educational benefits and workplace skill development programs, Walker added.

The proposal will be distributed to the SAC membership for suggestions, along with a “mentoring profile sheet” asking members which characteristics they look for in a mentor.

The goal eventually is to recruit other, non-SAC staff to serve as peer mentors, Walker said.

In other SAC business:

• Rich Colwell, a 25-year member of SAC, resigned as vice president of steering, effective Feb. 28. “Over the past four months I have found myself unable to commit the time necessary to serve as vice president of SAC,” Colwell said, noting that his job responsibilities at the Swanson School of Engineering have increased dramatically. Colwell will continue serving in the capacity of immediate past president.

• Election committee chair Barbara Mowery reported on the schedule for officer elections. The current officers’ two-year terms expire June 30. Nominations will be accepted in writing after the April 13 SAC meeting; voice nominations will be accepted at the May 13 meeting, and results of the elections will be announced at the June 8 meeting.

The committee hopes to hold the elections via the new SAC online community, but will be prepared to conduct them via paper ballot if any problems develop, Mowery said.

• The program and planning committee announced there will be no spring assembly this year.

—Peter Hart