University Times

Faculty and staff soon will be getting redesigned Pitt photo identification cards.

According to Joseph Phillips, assistant vice chancellor for business, Office of Budget and Controller, the cards will be distributed this month to employees' campus addresses through the University's paycheck distribution centers.

The new cards go into effect Jan. 2, 2001. Old cards are valid until then, and should be destroyed by the employee after Jan. 2, Phillips said.

The new I.D.s will include employee photos from the old cards. But new photos may be taken at the I.D. center at the option of the employee, Phillips said. Instructions will accompany the new cards, he said.

The new I.D.s carry all the privileges of the current cards, including free travel on Port Authority buses and light rails throughout Allegheny County. Cardholders also may enroll in Pitt's CampusFunds program, which allows users who establish an account to charge items at participating restaurants and stores.

In addition, as part of a deal between Pitt and PNC Bank, University employees are eligible for the bank's WorkPlace Banking program. Faculty and staff may open a checking account with no monthly service charge and no average monthly balance requirement.

A $50 cash bonus will be deposited in the new checking account by the bank. The new I.D. cards can be used by participants as a PNC Bank/ATM debit card.

The PNC Bank's offer is subject to restrictions: The account must be opened before Jan. 1, and the employee must sign up for direct deposit with PNC. The offer is good only at PNC's Craig Street office (4600 Fifth Ave.) and the Oakland office (4022 Fifth Ave.).

Participants may sign up for the program at those PNC branches or, until Nov. 22, at Posvar Hall lobby, where a PNC Bank representative will be available.

Details of the WorkPlace Banking program will be included with the distribution of the cards, Phillips said.

In addition to a new design, which features a backdrop of the Cathedral of Learning, the new I.D. cards will have an expiration date. Current ID cards do not include an expiration date.

Phillips said the expiration date will be customized based on an individual's date of hire at the University. He said he expected all new cards to be valid for at least one year and then be renewable in four- or five-year cycles.

Expiration dates are attached to minimize abuse by former employees, Phillips said. "On the whole, we don't want Pitt I.D. cards to be valid forever for use by people who may leave the University," Phillips said.

The new cards are free, but there is a $20 replacement charge for cards lost, stolen or damaged.

Pitt students also are getting new I.D. cards, which will go into effect Jan. 2.

Visiting faculty and employees' spouses and registered partners are eligible for special I.D.s that carry limited benefits such as library privileges. These so-called "gold cards" continue to be valid and will not be replaced, Phillips said.

For more information, contact the I.D. Cards/PittCard Office at 624-7643.

The office is located at 107 McCormick Hall.

–Peter Hart