By SHANNON O. WELLS
With Chancellor Joan Gabel “in a different time zone” working with the National Academy of Public Administration, Provost Joe McCarthy delivered the administration’s report to Senate Council at its Jan. 29 meeting in Posvar Hall.
He began by welcoming Corey O’Connor as Pittsburgh’s incoming 62nd mayor. “The chancellor was pleased to attend the inauguration ceremony, and we look forward to working with Mayor O’Connor in support of our city in the days and weeks ahead,” he said.
In other news:
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Pitt earned the Carnegie Community Engagement reclassification. “You may recall that we first earned that classification in 2020,” McCarthy said of the national designation recognizing institutions with “strong, long-term partnerships that benefit both universities and the communities that they serve.” The reclassification is valid until 2032.
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Pitt’s Career Outcomes Rate, the measure of the percentage of the University’s undergraduate alumni who are working full time or are enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation, is at 96%, “which happens to be over 10 percentage points higher than the national average,” he said.
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Research expenditures for fiscal year ‘25 could increase to more than $1.5 billion, placing Pitt in the U.S. top 20. “Imagine what it might have been without the delays or other distractions that we had,” McCarthy said.
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Applications for Pitt’s fall 2026 class are on another “record-setting pace,” up approximately 20% year over year, and “nearing 70,000 applications as we speak.”
In unionization news, McCarthy said “steady progress” continues in two collective bargaining processes. On the graduate student side, the most recent collective bargaining session was held Jan. 15. To date, the parties have tentatively agreed to 12 collective bargaining agreement provisions, with around 20 provisions actively being negotiated. Additional proposals are anticipated. The next session was scheduled for Jan. 30.
On the staff front, collective bargaining sessions with staff bargaining units represented by the United Steelworkers are scheduled bi-weekly, with the most recent held on Jan. 13 and 29.
“At present, the parties have successfully reached tentative agreements on 15 CBA provisions, with approximately 15 proposed provisions actively being negotiated,” McCarthy said. Updates for staff bargaining are available at staffunionization.pitt.edu or pittstaffunion.org. “We have also started to renegotiate the faculty collective bargaining agreement. I believe we’ve had two of those sessions to date.”
McCarthy moved on to accolades for faculty, staff and student accomplishments:
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Rob Rutenbar, senior vice chancellor for research, was named Wayne State University’s James and Patricia Anderson College of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering Distinguished Engineer honoree for 2026. “As you might have guessed, Wayne State University is, in fact, Dr. Rutenbar’s alma mater.”
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Football great Aaron Donald has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame for the class of 2026.
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Steve Manuck, emeritus distinguished university professor, professor of health psychology and behavioral medicine, received the American Psychological Association’s 2026 Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions.
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Nine Pitt leaders and alumni are recognized by the new Pittsburgh Courier as Women of Excellence. These include in the faculty and staff ranks, Sarah Ashmeg, clinical assistant professor in the School of Medicine’s Department of Radiation Oncology; Kyaien Conner, director of the Center on Race and Social Problems in the School of Social Work; and Tiffany Gary-Webb, associate director for the Center for Health Equity.
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Twenty Pitt people and affiliates were among the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Power 100 for 2026. “And I will point out, although she didn’t put it on here, that our chancellor was on that list,” he noted.
Senate Council president report
Senate Council President Kris Kanthak started her report by mentioning the “productive conversation” she had on Jan. 28 with Senate Government Relations Committee Chair David Sanchez and colleagues representing some of Pitt’s student governing bodies.
“We discussed how, in these scary times, information can be weaponized, and how our efforts to protect vulnerable members of our community might complicate the free flow of conversation that makes shared governance possible,” she said. “We discussed specifically the ways the Senate can help facilitate opportunities for students to feel their voices are being heard.
“I’m looking forward to keeping the conversation going,” she added. “And I’m glad to be in community with our smart, vibrant, strong student body.”
In other news, the Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Advocacy Committee (EIADAC) is working on changes in policies related to procurement that are being updated in accordance with recent guidance from the federal government (see related story). EIADAC also is thinking about ways that its work broadly affects that of other Senate committees and administrators beyond those specifically assigned to their committee.
“I’ve encouraged the committee membership to reach out to other committees and administrators in search of thought partners on their important work,” Kanthak said. “So some of you should be expecting calls soon.”
She called attention to Pitt’s Research Ethics and Society Initiative, which will host a series of events this semester, specifically relating to the ethical implications of artificial intelligence. Sen. Lisa Parker, professor of bioethics, is the initiative’s director “and essential to these events and RESI’s work in general,” Kanthak said.
Concluding her report, Kanthak expressed her gratitude for being “part of this Pitt family, even with all of the snow and the ice out there, we are empowered to create our own beloved community.
“Or if you prefer, don’t be a jag,” she added. “Shovel your walk. Shovel your neighbors walk if you can, and respect the parking chair.”
Staff Council report
Staff Council President Lindsay Rodzwicz started her report by acknowledging that on Jan. 28, Staff Council officers approved a statement in support of the Student Government Board’s resolution supporting Pitt’s international community members: “In the spirit of shared governance, we stand in support of SGB’s ask in their resolution to the University to provide protection of personal information, accessible training and transparent communication,” it says.
“Staff Council officers commend Student Government Board for their leadership on this important issue, and we stand ready to collaborate on their resolution’s successful implementation.”
Rodzwicz also recognized what Kanthak mentioned regarding sensitivity of that information and communication.
Staff Council echoed a “shout out” from Pittwire to the recipients of the 2025 Teaching Center Staff Excellence Awards: Samuel Caro Jones, technical assistance designer in learning and environments; Mariah Morris, executive assistant in planning and operations; Caitlin Pulizotto, fabrication specialist in the Open Lab at Hillman Library; and Molly Ritter, the Open Lab’s curriculum coordinator.
Looking forward, “we wanted to put out a save-the-date for this year’s Pitt Day at Kennywood. We hope to see everyone there on Saturday, June 27. More details to come,” she said.
“We have lots of informative and fun Staff Council events lined up,” she said.
The next Spotlight session will be on “Finding Balance Through Self Care,” held on Feb. 6, as a Zoom webinar with Jay Darr, University Counseling Center director; Charles Guthrie, executive director of Student Health Services; and Bernadette Smith, associate director of Outreach Programs & Services. They will engage in a “candid conversation about what realistic self-care looks like in person.”
Coffee and Conversations will take place on Feb. 11 in Alumni Hall with Shannon Reed, teaching professor and director of the undergraduate studies writing program.
The next Staff Council general meeting is at noon Feb. 18, and Staff Council will host staff at the Pitt women’s basketball game at 6 p.m. Feb. 19 vs. Georgia Tech. “Everyone is welcome at all of our events, and you can register online with the University Events Calendar,” Rodzwicz said.
Shannon Wells is a University Times reporter. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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