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Volume 39 Issue 16

Community service may be considered in tenure >

April 19th, 2007

Faculty Assembly last week endorsed a policy change in the Faculty Handbook to add at a school’s discretion “community service” as a weighted factor in promotion and tenure decisions. At the April 4 Assembly, Andrew Blair, vice provost for Faculty Affairs, reported that Provost James Maher had approved the change, which was recommended by the […]

Feature,Volume 39 Issue 16

Group to tackle sustainability issues >

April 19th, 2007

A new University Senate subcommittee convened to address sustainability issues — recycling, “green” building practices, energy efficiency and others — at Pitt got off to a roaring start last week. Building on suggestions by subcommittee chair Attilio “Buck” Favorini (see University Times April 5 Senate Matters column), the group, which was formed by the Senate […]

Feature,Volume 39 Issue 16

SAC focuses on benefits questions >

April 19th, 2007

Benefits were the hot topic at the Staff Association Council’s (SAC) April 11 meeting. SAC President Rich Colwell, who is a member of the University-wide medical advisory committee, reported on the three most prominent changes in the UPMC Health Plan, set to go into effect July 1. The biggest changes, Colwell said, are higher premiums […]

Feature,Volume 39 Issue 16

Biking to health on the Underground Railroad Trail >

April 19th, 2007

The road to improving minority health may be a long one, but Pitt’s Center for Minority Health (CMH) has come up with one 2,058-mile-long path that aims to be a route to both better fitness and a deeper appreciation for American history. After three years of planning with the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) to develop […]

Feature,Volume 39 Issue 16

Making Pitt Work:

Special Events staff coordinate commencement >

April 19th, 2007

April 29. It’s the day Pitt seniors have been waiting for. At 1 p.m. a parade of faculty and students in academic regalia will process through the doors of the Petersen Events Center. Amid pomp and circumstance and cheers and tears, less than three hours later the newest alumni of the University of Pittsburgh will […]

Feature,Volume 39 Issue 16

SIS reorganizes to reflect evolving disciplines >

April 19th, 2007

In her nearly 40 years as a Pitt staff member in the School of Information Sciences (SIS), Theresa Benedek has worked with six deans or acting deans, seen the name of the school change three times, witnessed a revolution in information technology that spawned entirely new disciplines and lived through several school-wide structural overhauls. The […]

Feature,Volume 39 Issue 16

Eclectic interests pull retiring professor >

April 19th, 2007

After 37 years at Pitt, Gerald Massey is retiring as Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy. If he’s being put out to pasture, it’s only because he wants to be. While he’s been semi-retired for several years, Massey has decided that now is the time to refocus his attention on his eclectic interests — among them […]

Feature,Volume 39 Issue 16

Provost's innovation program funds 11 teaching projects >

April 19th, 2007

Eleven teaching proposals have been selected for funding under the eighth annual Provost’s Advisory Council on Instructional Excellence innovation in education awards program. The awards encourage instructional innovation and teaching excellence. Funding for this year’s awards totals $159,577. Winners of this year’s awards and summaries of their proposals are: • Ahmed Amer, assistant professor of […]

Feature,Volume 39 Issue 16