By SHANNON O. WELLS
With war and instability still on the rise in the Middle East, Senate Council President Robin Kear prefaced her report to Faculty Assembly by addressing the wave of antisemitic and Islamophobic sentiments and actions throughout the country.
“Our students, faculty and staff continue to be impacted by these tragedies that need support and community,” she said at the Nov. 1 meeting in Posvar Hall. “It is sobering to read of the increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic remarks and actions on college campuses in the United States. I have talked to instructors about how difficult navigating these issues are in the classroom.”
Noting the “many thoughtful events” on campus to “further our empathy and understanding,” Kear said she is heartened by the faculty’s generosity “during an extremely difficult time. It is forgiving and gracious of them.”
Some of the campus events include “Talking About Israel and Palestine,” sponsored in part by the Jewish Study Center; “Human Rights Amid Violent Conflict: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on events in Israel and Gaza,” partially sponsored by Pitt Global Studies; and “Pitt United in Compassion,” conceived and convened by Faculty Assembly member Jennifer Murtazashvili, and Abdesalam Soudi, a faculty representative on the provost search committee.
“So if you are struggling or impacted, there are … resources available,” Kear said, from the Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the Center for Teaching and Learning “and avenues for counseling and reflection. And during these tumultuous events, we must hold tight to our humanity and the recognition of the humanity of others.”
Kear, “with apologies,” paraphrased Murtazashvili from the United in Compassion event: “Compassion and unity are not idealistic notions. They are powerful forces,” she said. “So I want to thank Jen and Abdesalam for holding that event. It was very powerful in itself.”
COVID-19 vaccination policy
A decommissioning of Interim Policy CS 29 covering temporary COVID vaccination requirements is open for comment. The policy required a COVID booster shot for students and for Pitt employment. “And then you had to go through an exemption process,” Kear said. “This was really an interim policy that was put in near the height of the pandemic, but is being decommissioned.”
Earlier this year, Pitt’s Benefits and Welfare Committee approved a permanent vaccination enforcement policy that requires an initial vaccine series against COVID-19 for faculty, staff and students, and maintains existing student requirements for other vaccines. Kear said that policy is in the draft stage on its way to being finalized.
“You can comment through the policy office website, or you can let me know, (and) I’ll incorporate that into the Senate response,” she said, that will be posted through Nov. 16.
As explained on the website, the policy was decommissioned because it “establishes requirements that are no longer operationally relevant or are no longer aligned with federal state or local guidance.”
Other updates
Artificial intelligence: Kear said the University’s Ad Hoc Committee on Generative AI in Research and Teaching, co-chaired by Faculty Assembly member Lisa Parker, is “working hard, meeting weekly.” Kear and other Senate Council members attend the meetings “for deliberations that will result in recommendations.” Kear also mentioned a recently released presidential executive order on artificial intelligence “that should help guide ethical and responsible development of AI,” Kear said.
Committees update: Kear said she continues to attend as many committee meetings as she can, noting that some committees have openings. The Budget Policies committee, Kear said, “would appreciate some perspective, especially from the medical school, for that group. So if you know of someone to approach, please let me know or Lori Molinaro know, so she can ask them.”
Year of Discourse: Kear said the expanded executive committee, which met Oct. 6, decided “to join broader educational efforts in the Year of Discourse and Dialogue and some that will take place more intensively next year,” including the Campus Call for Free Expression, rather than through a committee. “If you have ideas for those, let me know.”
Improved messaging: Kear concluded her report with a thank you to Pitt’s Public Safety teams, “for what I think is improved communications” during crises on or near campus. “Now we get an alert (that) says ‘Avoid this area,’ which is great.”
Bylaws resolution
Following a long journey, including months of debate and discussions, Faculty Assembly passed an amended resolution proposed by the University Senate’s Bylaws and Procedures Committee.
The main thrust of the proposal would include eliminating the current need for part-time untenured faculty to opt in to Senate membership rather than being automatically included as members, as well as the requirement that part-time faculty need to teach at least six paid credits per year for eligibility
The current amended version also would make part-time faculty members ineligible for officer positions and limits Faculty Assembly eligibility and committee chair positions to part-time faculty with a one-year appointment.
Bylaws committee Chairman Nick Bircher explained changes from the original proposal, which was tabled at a May 10 Faculty Assembly meeting, that also addressed part-time faculty’s voting rights and whether they can serve as committee chairs.
Regarding officer appointments, he said “it was a strong feeling of many that part-time faculty should be ineligible for office.”
He acknowledged eligibility limits for Faculty Assembly will affect relatively few part-time faculty members.
“I don’t know what the proportions are of term-to-term hires as compared to one-year appointments, but it is probably a relatively small portion of part-time faculty right now that have one-year appointments,” Bircher said. “But in order to ensure that they are available throughout the year to exercise the responsibilities incumbent on them with respect to Faculty Assembly, we propose that restriction.”
The proposal also specifies that part-time faculty who have appointments in more than one school can only represent one school in Faculty Assembly “in any given year.”
“Now, if those appointments continue longitudinally, they can switch their representation, but they can’t represent two schools at the same time,” Bircher explained. “This is consistent with the structure of Faculty Assembly in general.”
Regarding part-time faculty serving as chairs, the committee decided the one-year appointment restriction, which Bircher said puts part-time faculty on “essentially a level playing field with full-time, appointment-stream faculty,” was appropriate, based on the “majority of the appointment stream” being on year-to-year appointments.
“We have no prospective evidence that suggests that the part-time faculty with a one-year appointment are going to behave any differently than full-time faculty with one-year appointments,” he added. “And given that there’s a sizable struggle, year on year, to get people to fill positions (on committees), a more inclusive approach actually makes sense with respect to getting the business of the University Senate done as well as creating a more inclusive community.”
Responding to a question about the frequency of part-time faculty seeking appointments and committee positions, Bircher said there’s been a “handful” in the past decade.
“That a part-time faculty member — or particularly a part-time faculty member (with) two or three jobs in order to make a living — is going to seek out essentially non-compensated or … non-recognized work on the part of their department chair, I think the likelihood of that is pretty low,” he said.
Faculty Assembly passed the amended proposal with 37 members voting yes, one voting no, and one abstention.
Melanie Scott, vice chair of research in the Department of Surgery, thanked Bircher for “the hard work” he and the committee put into the policy.
“I think this is much better, and it’s much better thought out than the original proposal, which, in my view, didn’t cover some of these aspects very well,” she said, asking Bircher about possibly creating a committee dedicated to part-time faculty members.
Bircher confirmed it is “something the committee had considered,” but would likely either require a bylaws amendment or create a “caucus,” as a less formal avenue to solicit input. He defined this as “a group of people who don’t have the same committee structure that a standing committee would, but are able to voice their views.”
Because of the “fairly intricate set of considerations” it entails, Bircher said the idea is “on the rather distant horizon.”
Computing resources policy
In other business, following a lengthy discussion about specific language and various contingencies, Faculty Assembly opted to table a vote on the Access to and Use of University Computing Resources Policy brought by the Senate Computing and Information Technology Committee.
The committee approved a draft policy on Sept. 28 to clarify questions regarding computer access and modify outdated language in the original policy.
“I don’t think we’re ready,” Kear said after a series of back-and-forth questions and concerns. She invited computer committee chair Angela Zack and Brian Hart, Pitt IT special projects manager, to return to Faculty Assembly, possibly at the next meeting on Nov. 29.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
Have a story idea or news to share? Share it with the University Times.