University Times

Great Americans' Day moves to March — if you work or attend school at Pitt

Pitt will be closed March 6 in observance of Great Americans' Day, a holiday normally celebrated in February.

The scheduling is the result of a permanent policy change. Beginning this year, the University will observe Great Americans' Day on the Friday of spring break for Pitt students.

The idea is that students already will be away, and the new system will eliminate the need to cancel one week's worth of Friday classes, said Vice Provost for Graduate Studies Elizabeth Baranger, whose office coordinates Pitt's academic calendar.

Another advantage is that, by delaying Great Americans' Day until March, it will be more evenly spaced between Pitt's two other spring holidays: Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday (Jan. 19) and Memorial Day (May 25), Baranger said.

The scheduling of Great Americans' Day in March appears in the current 1997-98 academic calendar. But to make sure the University community knows about the change, the Provost's office plans to mail reminder letters Jan. 15 to deans, directors and department chairpersons, and place advertisements in the University Times and The Pitt News closer to the holiday itself.

— Bruce Steele