In front of a TV was the place to be at noontime on Tuesday. Some classes were canceled and many TVs were tuned to inaugural coverage as members of the Pitt community gathered to watch Barack Obama be sworn in as the nation’s 44th president. About 100 viewers gathered in the William Pitt Union Assembly […]
Expense/revenue report could be made public >
January 22nd, 2009Public discussion of the University’s attribution report is “getting on track,” Senate budget policies committee chairman Richard Pratt told members at BPC’s Jan. 16 meeting. The report attributes revenues and expenses to the University’s academic units and other responsibility centers, including athletics. BPC has delayed inviting athletics director Steve Pederson to its meeting because the […]
Some FMLA changes go into effect >
January 22nd, 2009The University’s staff handbook has been revised to reflect changes to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that took effect Jan. 16. The updated FMLA clarifies employer and employee rights and responsibilities under FMLA and adds special provisions for military service members and their families. FMLA gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks […]
SAC president addresses staff layoff rumors >
January 22nd, 2009Staff Association Council (SAC) President Rich Colwell said that no staff layoffs are expected despite the bleak economic situation at the University and elsewhere. Pitt has been forced to take cost-cutting measures as a result of cutbacks in commonwealth funding. (See Jan. 8 University Times.) “We have heard some rumors about layoffs. We have been […]
Lack of time, not money, may close Pitt stock club >
January 22nd, 2009The University’s Stock of the Month club has liquidated its assets and officers are debating the group’s future. Founded in 1960, the group exists to give faculty and staff the opportunity to have fun while learning about stocks and investing in joint portfolios. Since its inception, club members contributed $10 each month toward each active […]
Emergency exceptions in FERPA clarified >
January 22nd, 2009The fatal Virginia Tech shootings in 2007 focused new attention on the federal law that protects student privacy rights. Now the U.S. Department of Education has issued a new guide that seeks to elucidate — rather than alter significantly — the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. The new regulations, issued by the […]
Presby recognized for electronic records system >
January 22nd, 2009UPMC Presbyterian has been recognized by the leading health care technology industry organization for its advanced use of a comprehensive electronic medical record (EMR), achieving a technology and patient safety distinction earned by only 24 of more than 5,700 U.S. hospitals. UPMC Presbyterian joins Children’s Hospital as a “stage 6” hospital, according to HIMSS Analytics, […]
UCSUR award applications sought >
January 22nd, 2009The University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) is seeking applicants for the annual Steven D. Manners Faculty Development Awards. Two awards of up to $10,000 each relating to work in the social, behavioral and policy sciences will be given in honor of Manners, who was assistant director at the time of his death […]