University Times

How the Sept. 24-25 G-20 summit may impact the University and its operations remains unclear pending details University administrators said they expect to receive from the White House sometime after Sept. 14.

Pitt administrators say the goal is to maintain normal University operations as much as possible during the summit. Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Ron Frisch told the University Times the University would remain open.

In a Sept. 2 University Update, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg cautioned that the event “almost certainly will require some modifications, institutionally and individually, to customary routines.”

Because most of the summit activities will be Downtown, it “should make our practical challenges more manageable.”

However, he pointed out that road closings, public transit route changes and altered airport operations will affect transit. “We expect that experienced commuters, armed with the right information, will be able to adjust to whatever short-term challenges are presented,” he stated.

Summit-related events in Oakland include a welcome dinner for G-20 guests hosted by President Barack Obama at Phipps Conservatory on Sept. 24 and a mass march to the City County Building, Downtown, coordinated by the Thomas Merton Center. The march begins at noon Sept. 25 at the corner of Forbes and Craft avenues.

Nordenberg, in his update, said that because Phipps Conservatory borders the Pittsburgh campus, the Sept. 24 dinner there “almost certainly will affect our operations here that day. When it becomes more certain what changes will be required, we will begin the processes of notification and implementation.”