University Times

In what a University official called “restructuring,” eight College of General Studies (CGS) staff members are out of jobs and three vacant positions are being eliminated.

Affected staff were notified March 6 that their positions had been eliminated, effective that day. Six of the eight staff members worked on campus and two worked Downtown at a CGS satellite site, according to Robert Hill, vice chancellor for Public Affairs.

In addition, three vacant CGS staff positions will not be filled. All 11 eliminated positions were full time, Hill said.

CGS now employs 38 full-time staff members.

Asked whether this month’s CGS move was budget-related, Hill said, “Everything’s budget-related. But the driving force of this decision was to re-position the College of General Studies to better service the students and employers of our region, where Pitt is the primary provider of adult learning. The re-configurement followed a very careful study of every position at CGS. What has emerged is a re-structuring that makes [CGS] more effective and efficient in fulfilling its mission to serve the region.”

Staff whose positions were eliminated were offered standard severance packages based on their length of service, Hill said. “Those staff are eligible to compete for openings in other positions at the University.”

According to Ron Frisch, associate vice chancellor for Human Resources (HR), “At least four of the eight individuals who lost their positions have already begun to work with All•Temps and HR staff to identify other opportunities at the University.”

Last October, two staff members at the School of Social Work were asked to leave the University or take lower paying jobs in the school as the result of budget cuts, a school official said at the time.

Given the strains on Pitt’s budget, could other staff face layoffs? Hill said, “We had a few [positions eliminated], in the single digits, in the course of the last year. I do not expect there to be any more staff position eliminations this fiscal year, or, at most, a handful.”

Staff Association Council (SAC) officers declined comment on the CGS action.

SAC has closed its last two full-membership meetings (Feb. 12 and March 12) to everyone except members and guests.

Rich Colwell, SAC vice president for steering, told the University Times that SAC officers and members “are not at liberty to respond to the questions that are specific to [the March 12] agenda,” because the group agreed to keep the meeting’s discussion confidential.

Colwell acknowledged that Frisch, who usually attends SAC meetings, was a guest at the March 12 closed meeting.

Two SAC members who attended the March 12 meeting told the University Times that staff layoffs were discussed. The two members declined to give details.

The CGS dean’s office referred inquiries to Public Affairs’ Hill.

—Peter Hart