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July 22, 2004

SAC Welcomes Associate Members

The Staff Association Council (SAC) welcomed 13 new associate members last week at its annual new members luncheon.

Under council bylaws, new members serve two-year terms, starting as associate members for six months prior to gaining full member status. Associate members are required to join one or more of SAC’s seven standing committees, but cannot hold officer or committee chair positions, nor can they vote.

New SAC members include: Sean Ellis – information sciences; Kristofer Fertig – medicine; Wendy Frank – medicine; Cheri Hill – pharmacy; Joyce Holl -medicine; Matthew Kelley – information sciences; Nasrin Khajeh – medicine; Matthew Nicol – information sciences; Julie Nys – medicine; Ken Onwere – public health; Bobbi Jo Rosol – Computing Services and Systems Development; Christine Usher – University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), and Janice Walker – UPCI.

Also recognized at the July 14 lunch were the cohort of SAC members who joined the council in February. Those include:

Dana DiVirgilio-Thomas – nursing; Colleen Farrell – medicine; Brittany Guthrie – engineering; Joan Neitznick – UPCI; Martania Penn – Office of Technology Management; Karalee Richardson – Facilities Management; Helen E. Ryland – UPCI, and Patty Smith – UPCI.

SAC President Rich Colwell urged the new members to think in broad terms about how they can help Pitt staff. “When I joined SAC 18 years ago, it was because I had a personal agenda: I wanted to get a parking space,” Colwell said. “But that is not what SAC is all about. If you have a personal agenda or issue, set it aside. You can bring it up in [the appropriate committee], but keep in mind you represent the concerns of all staff.”

Colwell added that SAC members participate in shared governance by representing staff on most University committees. “We do a lot of work behind the scenes. We have input into the budget process, on health care insurance, on benefits, on dean’s searches, and we bring concerns of fellow staff to the administration.”

-Peter Hart


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