University Times

Staff Association Council members continue to seek more information to make certain staff raises are equitable across the University, even though SAC President Rich Colwell told the group Dec. 11 that SAC officers had found no inequities thus far.

The officers met with Ron Frisch, associate vice chancellor for human resources, following SAC’s previous meeting, Colwell said, and were shown confidential data about staff raises. “Staff did good,” Colwell said, receiving fairly distributed raises during the University’s annual salary adjustment: a salary-increase pool of 2.5 percent, divided as 1.5 percent for salary maintenance for employees rated satisfactory in their work and 1.0 percent for merit and other unit-level adjustments.

He also noted that his call for data from SAC members about raises in individual departments and schools had resulted in “a good response back … and I can comfortably say that what the University said they were going to do by the raises … they did.”

Colwell still pressed for the administration to undertake the same analysis of staff salaries that it performs for faculty salaries, comparing them to salaries at similar institutions.

Kathryn Trent, manager of grounds service, suggested that a gender gap in wages likely exists among staff salaries as it does among faculty salaries. “I’d like to see it addressed,” she said.

The matter was referred to the health, safety, IT and transportation committee.

In other SAC news:

• Monika Losagio, vice president of finance, reported the recipients of the awards from the SAC Book Fund, which pays for textbooks for Pitt undergraduate students who are children of staff members.

Chosen among 24 applicants were recipients Rosalie Clements, daughter of Daniel Clements of Computing Services and Systems Development (CSSD); Alyssa Janosko, daughter of Yvonne Janosko of continuing education in the School of Nursing; Jenna Zaldonis, daughter of Diana Zaldonis of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in the School of Medicine; Dominika Urban, daughter of Zsolt Urban of the Department of Human Genetics in the Graduate School of Public Health, and Kylea Covaleski, daughter of Paul Covaleski of CSSD.

“It came as no surprise to us that the level of applications was so high, because the quality of our Pitt students is so high,” Losagio said. “It’s our hope that we continue and grow the SAC Book Fund so that we can continue to give more awards each year.”

• Andrew Stephany, chair of external relations, announced that his committee already was planning this year’s Pitt Kennywood Day and would be soliciting suggestions for activities to retain and those to add.

• SAC’s next brown bag lunch presentation dates and subjects were announced: Jan. 23, Family and Medical Leave Act and short- and long-term disability; Feb. 25, financial planning; March 20, flexible spending, and April 17, medical benefits. All will take place at noon in the ballroom of the William Pitt Union.

• Samantha Stephens, SAC administrator, resigned her post because she is taking on a new job at Pitt: human resources and business coordinator in athletics.

—Marty Levine