University Times

Ralph Willard, head men's basketball coach since 1994, announced Feb. 1 that he was stepping down at the end of the Panthers' season. Willard cited print media stories and rumors about his job status as reasons for his resignation, saying the reports had crippled his recruiting efforts. Willard's teams have gone 60-76 to date, including […]

Applications for grant support from the Competitive Medical Research Fund (CMRF) are being sought. The deadlines for submission are March 15 (award effective July 1, 1999) and Sept. 15 (award effective Jan. 1, 2000). CMRF was established to provide support for physicians and other medical scientists in conducting new and worthy research in its early […]

The finance and marketing divisions of Pitt's business school are entering the hockey finance arena. Faculty members and MBAs from the Katz Graduate School of Business will be working with Pittsburgh Penguins officials to address several issues facing the beleaguered local franchise, which is re-organizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws. The project will be led […]

UPMC Health System — together with six other investors, including Pitt — has joined with the U.S. Small Business Administration to form a venture capital fund that will invest in biomedical start-up companies. The $60 million fund will invest in as many as 15 early-stage companies over the next five years, officials said at a […]

The Facilities Manage- ment plan designed to improve custodial service on the Pittsburgh campus will be implemented on Feb. 7, with Pitt's 201 custodians starting their new jobs and shifts. (See University Times, Jan. 21.) Custodians bid for available positions on Jan. 27. The plan, first announced last November and delayed twice, will result in […]

Swallowing disorders affect approximately 75 percent of hospitalized patients in the United States and 60 percent of all patients over the age of 60. To properly diagnose and treat patients with any swallowing disorder, UPMC Heal th System has opened the region's first Swallowing Disorders Center. One of about 15 such centers in the United […]

Teresa Ree Chay, professor of biological sciences with an adjunct appointment in chemistry, died Jan. 27, 1999. She was 61. Chay earned a B.A. in mathematics in 1959 and a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1961, both from the University of Utah. She came to Pitt in 1970 as a research associate and was named assistant […]

Employees who use payroll deduction for parking fees now qualify for a pre-tax deduction, Parking and Transportation Services announced. Commencing with January's paychecks, parking fees will be deducted automatically before taxes are calculated, in compliance with an amendment to the Internal Revenue Service Code. The amount of tax savings varies according to tax bracket. According […]

A business consultant and management educator with ties to the University, Graham Baxter died Jan. 20, 1999, of complications following hip replacement surgery. He was 58. Baxter earned a Ph.D. in business from Pitt in 1974. He served as administrator for the business school's Management Program for Executives. He helped establish an undergraduate business program, […]

Employees who use payroll deduction for parking fees now qualify for a pre-tax deduction, Parking and Transportation Services announced. Commencing with January's paychecks, parking fees will be deducted automatically before taxes are calculated, in compliance with an amendment to the Internal Revenue Service Code. The amount of tax savings varies according to tax bracket. According […]