University Times

Beginning next fall, students attending Pitt's Freshman Convocation will be asked to pledge to live by common values of mutual respect and civility, self-restraint, concern for others, and academic integrity.

The pledge statement, called "The Pitt Promise: A Commitment to Civility," also will be used at other University events and in Pitt publications.

Unlike Pitt's student judicial code, "The Pitt Promise" is not legally enforceable, noted Robert P. Gallagher, interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs. The statement "is really meant to make our value expectations of students clearer and to encourage dialogue about how we might increase the level of civility on campus," Gallagher said.

The text of the pledge is reprinted on this page.

The first public recitation of "The Pitt Promise" took place April 13 at a Student Government Board (SGB)-sponsored dinner honoring student leaders.

Besides SGB, the College of General Studies Student Government Council and the Graduate and Professional Student Association have endorsed the new pledge.

Senate Council on April 7 added its endorsement of "The Pitt Promise." But Council members stopped short of extending the statement to cover faculty, staff and administrators or students at Pitt's four regional campuses – for procedural reasons, not because Council members believe Oakland campus students are the only people at Pitt capable of being uncivil.

Senate President Keith McDuffie and Staff Association Council (SAC) President Brian Hart said they didn't feel comfortable voting to extend "The Pitt Promise" to their constituents without first reviewing the statement with Faculty Assembly and SAC, respectively.

"Maybe we can put it this way: The students will be leading us in civility," McDuffie quipped.

McDuffie, Hart and others suggested bringing "The Pitt Promise" back to Council at a future meeting for a second, University-wide endorsement.

Such an endorsement would not require rewriting the pledge, which refers to "members of the University community" rather than singling out students.

Interim Vice Chancellor Gallagher said he has sent a copy of "The Pitt Promise" to the University's Bradford campus but not yet to the Greensburg, Johnstown and Titusville campuses. Use of the statement will be limited to the Oakland campus until the regionals have reviewed it, Gallagher said.

Gallagher said he brought "The Pitt Promise" to Senate Council to help build University support for the statement.

In a Feb. 14 letter describing "The Pitt Promise" to the University community Gallagher wrote: "It is my hope that this statement of values will be endorsed at all levels of the University, used at appropriate orientation functions and incorporated into relevant University programs. It also is my hope that the distribution of this statement will encourage meaningful dialogue about the furthering of a civil climate for learning at the University of Pittsburgh." In his letter, Gallagher cited "a national preoccupation these days with the question of declining societal values" and reports of increasing intolerance among college and university students. "While it can be assumed that these trends are as true on the University of Pittsburgh campus as on any other, I believe that a large percentage of our students have a positive set of core values. They demonstrate these values by their willingness to contribute to blood drives, sign organ donor cards, collect money for charities and give willingly of their time to community service. It is my belief, however, that these core values can be enhanced and civil life on campus improved by the University's willingness to be clear about its 'value' expectations for students." Gallagher argued that it is especially important to make those values clear to new students, who tend to be open to institutional statements of expectations, he said.

A growing number of U.S. universities are focusing on "values education," Gallagher wrote. "The University of Cincinnati has received national attention because of its focus on developing a 'just community.' The University of Akron has disseminated a lengthy document describing the institution's behavioral expectations for all members of the community. The University of South Carolina has garnered wide university support for a document called 'The Carolinian Creed,' and the University of Virginia is one of a number of institutions that has a well-established honors code. All of these institutions report positive improvement in the campus climate because of their efforts."

– Bruce Steele