University Times

New York Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Alfonse D'Amato have introduced an amendment to the 1998 federal budget bill that seeks to reinstate tax exempt status for TIAA-CREF's pension plan. The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate removed the tax exemption in the budget they sent to President Bill Clinton in early August. According to […]

Faculty and staff groups have been known to battle fiercely with the administration over a 1 percent difference in salary raises. Yet, hundreds of Pitt employees throw away thousands of dollars each year — by failing to sign up for TIAA-CREF or Vanguard, the two "contributory tax-deferred annuity" retirement plans offered at the University. Of […]

Want to reduce your chances of getting a cold this winter? Get more involved with people – children, relatives, friends, social groups, church groups, co-workers. While it might seem as if exposure to more people is an invitation for a cold, studies by Pitt adjunct professor of psychology and psychiatry Sheldon Cohen and colleagues have […]

The University has asked five health insurers to bid for its employee medical insurance business. Pitt's three-year, exclusive contract with Highmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield (formerly Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western Pennsylvania) expires June 30, 1998. For the next contract, the Pitt Human Resources office has requested proposals from HighMark, HealthAmerica, Pyramid Health, Tri-State […]

The bathroom medicine cabinet actually is one of the worst places to keep medicine, according to Pitt's Drug Information and Pharmacoepidemiology Center (DIPC). Storing medications in the bathroom or kitchen near sources of heat and moisture, such as a sink, shower, dishwasher or stove, increases the likelihood that the medicine may be altered. According to […]

Negotiators for Pitt and the union that represents some 540 University custodians, grounds-keepers and food service workers have tentatively agreed on a new contract. Members of Local 29 of the Service Employees International Union are scheduled to meet Oct. 15 to vote on the proposal. They have been working on a series of contract extensions […]

Herbal drugs have a place in the modern medical system. That was the conclusion of Michael Flannery, director of the Lloyd Library at the University of Cincinnati, during last month's C. F. Reynolds Medical History Society lecture. With a collection of more than 200,000 volumes, the Lloyd Library is "the largest library of pharmacognosy literature […]

The list of candidates to be the new dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is down to 13 — barring any last-minute, stellar applicants — and the search committee will begin interviews with them on Oct. 10. The 13 men and women include candidates from within Pitt as well as outsiders, representing […]