University Times

Staff representatives from Pitt's four regional campuses could gain seats on the Pittsburgh campus's Staff Association Council (SAC).

SAC bylaws will need to be rewritten before such a move can occur, but support for it was strong at an Oct. 19 introductory gathering of staff members from the five campuses.

Called by Pittsburgh SAC President Brian Hart, the meeting on the Greensburg campus (UPG) included Bob Knipple and Betsy Goenner from the Johnstown campus's (UPJ) Staff Activities and Concerns Association, and Laurel Butler and Michele Angevine from the Bradford campus's (UPB) Staff Association Council.

Pitt's Greensburg and Titusville (UPT) campuses do not have staff organizations, but staff members Joyce Bucchi and Linda King from UPG, and Marlene Beichner, Susan McGavey and Pam Krepps from UPT attended the meeting.

In discussing the possibility of representatives from the regional campuses assuming seats on Pittsburgh's SAC, it was agreed that such a move would make staff issues involving the regional campuses more visible to the administration on the Pittsburgh campus.

It also is believed that adding regional representatives to the Pittsburgh SAC will help to make staff at the regional campuses feel more a part of the Pitt system. "I think we can be a resource to one another and I would like to see that developed," King said.

Hart agreed, saying: "I think it is important to get together and talk about things that are of concern to all of us." At the same time, though, Hart added that he did not see the addition of regional representatives to the Pittsburgh SAC as an answer to every problem faced by staff at the four regional campuses. Nor did he see it as a shift in power to Pittsburgh.

"I don't want to propose a monolithic organization that would squelch whatever individual efforts are going on at Bradford or Johnstown, Greensburg or Titusville," Hart said. "This has nothing to do with merging the campuses and making them all one big gray mass. We're really talking about creating a new organization that is made up of smaller organizations with agendas of their own." Pittsburgh SAC recently began a study of its bylaws. Hart told the staff members present at the meeting that as changes are made copies will be forwarded to staff at the regional campuses for comment.

No date has been set, but another meeting of SAC representatives and staff members from Pitt's five campuses is being planned for sometime in January at UPJ.

Pittsburgh SAC's annual fall assembly also will be broadcast live to the four regional campuses on Nov. 15.

–Mike Sajna