By SHANNON O. WELLS
Senate Council President Robin Kear started her monthly report at the Nov. 5 Faculty Assembly meeting by acknowledging what took place the night before, on Election Day. Republican Donald Trump will succeed Democrat Joe Biden, who in 2020 defeated then-President Trump.
Kear didn’t name Trump nor his 2024 opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, but recognized the historic significance of the election and the day-after emotional drain on those who closely followed the rather tumultuous, hard-fought campaign.
“We now have a president elected, and we have a diverse range of viewpoints on our campus and our community on those results,” she said. “And no matter who is elected, there is no doubt that we will have many discussions in our classrooms and on our campus on what it means over the next four years and beyond.”
Hinting at the uncertainty generated by Trump’s controversial campaign proclamations on issues like illegal immigration, higher education and women’s reproductive rights, Kear said she chooses “to remain hopeful. The alternative, to me, is bleak, and I refuse to submit to it,” she said. “And I hope you do as well — remain hopeful.”
In addition to updates from Kear, the Faculty Assembly also passed a resolution to create and accommodate affinity groups that could bring issues before the Senate and introduced a proposed Ad Hoc Committee on Antisemitism resolution in response to recent threats directed at Jewish students on the Oakland campus (see related story).
Affinity groups resolution
Nick Bircher, co-chair of the Bylaws and Procedures committee and faculty member in the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, revisited a resolution discussed in September to allow creation of affinity groups within the University Senate, which Faculty Assembly approved.
The Bylaws committee approved the resolution at its May 31 meeting. At its Sept. 11 meeting, Faculty Assembly requested to remove a clause related to affinity groups’ inclusionary scope, along with minor language changes. A vote was postponed to the Nov. 6 meeting, where it was approved, with 27 voting yes, 11 voting no, and four abstaining.
The Senate Council also approved the affinity groups resolution at its Nov. 14 meeting at Posvar Hall, with 26 voting yes, four voting no and one abstaining.
Bircher explained the primary objective of this amendment to University Senate bylaws is to “create an additional opportunity for communication between various segments of the community with shared interests in both Faculty Assembly and separately standing committees.”
The problem the resolution seeks to mitigate, he noted, is a “seeming disconnect between those represented and the representatives to whom they should be addressing their concerns.”
Bircher said while the concept is built on an existing Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI) affinity group model, what the Bylaws committee proposes is a “considerably less complicated” procedure for creating an affinity group, “as there are fewer requirements in order to come to Faculty Assembly for approval as an affinity group or a (Senate) standing committee.”
He added that while this presents an “opportunity for communication,” it does not “create a mandate for a particular required action.”
Bircher also noted that Senate Council President Robin Kear made “very significant contributions” in building in appropriate checks and balances during the development of the proposal.
Responding to a question about whether any groups within University Senate had expressed interest in creating an affinity group, Kear said not yet. She had, however, received an expression of interest from an existing OEDI affinity group to formally liaise with the Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Advocacy committee (EIADAC).
“They’re called various things now, the employee representative group, an ERP, I believe, or a community group … and they had interest because they have an existing group, which this allows for,” Kear said at Faculty Assembly. “They don’t want to duplicate what’s going on in OEDI, but they wanted to liaise with the Senate around issues that they felt were important.
“I think that would be a good … first sort of test case with an established affinity group to formally liaise with the Senate committee, in this case, EIADAC,” Kear added, “and to share information (so) they could see what’s on EIADAC’s agenda and see how they could also give input. It’s not meant to duplicate anyone’s representation (but to) expand the reach of the Senate, or the ways that people can interact with the Senate.”
Other business
Union organization: Representatives from the School of Medicine continue to meet with Faculty Assembly members and Eric Crossman in the Office of University Counsel to discuss the impact of the union collective bargaining agreement on medical school faculty and shared governance.
“There are still concerns about things potentially being applied to the med school without their input, especially around the area of benefits and health care, which someone (noted) is sort of ironic,” Kear said. “But Eric helped us to answer those questions, and we’ll be meeting again to discuss remedies for the committee chairs.
Records release authorization: Kear said she has appointed two Faculty Assembly representatives to the interim policy group set up by Provost Joe McCarthy to examine the “Authorization for Release of Records and Information” form that new faculty hires have been required to sign since fall 2023.
Lisa Parker, director of Pitt’s Center for Bioethics & Health Law and professor of human genetics in the School of Public Health, and Najeeb Shafiq, professor of education, economics, and international affairs, will serve on that committee.
“Thanks to them for doing that,” she said. “I hope that convenes soon.”
Education Benefits policy: Kear said that although the updated education benefits policy was under discussion in the Benefits and Welfare committee, the discussion and updates have been paused “due to the status quo during the staff union-negotiation period.” The proposed policy updates do not change the benefits, but streamline the process.
Online meeting: The next Faculty Assembly meeting, at 3 p.m. Dec. 4, will be online only, because the Posvar Hall meeting room that the group uses will be occupied by Board of Trustees committees that day.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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