By SHANNON O. WELLS
In her final report to Senate Council for the 2024-25 academic year, Chancellor Joan Gabel celebrated Pitt’s continued successes while acknowledging the challenges and potential setbacks — largely from outside forces — now facing the University and higher education in general.
Regarding the April 30 town hall webinar, intended to air concerns stemming from White House-generated executive orders affecting research funding and international students’ visa status, Gabel thanked all who took part, including those who “came together to answer questions.”
“Most importantly, everyone who asked questions and gave us the opportunity to create a forum for us to update everyone and receive feedback and otherwise work together as we navigate through what we are collectively referring to as ‘interesting times,’ for lack of a better descriptor,” she said at the May 15 meeting in Posvar Hall. “So thank you all very much for that.”
Gabel provided a synopsis of what she discussed in the webinar, details of which were shared in the May 2 University Times story.
Noting recent efforts to broaden lines of communication across the Pitt community, Gabel said between the Board of Trustees meeting on May 8, the town hall webinar and “some written communications, we've really tried to blanket the community with at least updates on where things are, if not actual solutions, where uncertainty remains.
“We will have another webinar town hall … at some point during the summer,” she added, noting that scheduling is in progress. “We will take any questions both in advance and in real time, and we will continue to communicate with everyone as new things emerge.”
Following Gabel’s report, Staff Council President Lindsay Rodzwicz expressed appreciation to all involved in the town hall webinar.
“I've heard great feedback across campus, and overall our employees appreciated that direct communication and the opportunity for that dialog and engagement,” she said. “So thank you all for that session.”
Shouting out
In an effort to “inventory some of our good news,” Gabel lauded Anantha Shankar, senior vice chancellor for health sciences for the recent announcement of GAINMED, a “transformative, AI-powered healthcare platform” established as a partnership between Pitt and AI pioneer Vizzhy. She said it will “create exciting new ways to think about everything from training clinicians to the healthcare delivery model to managing disease.”
Gabel praised Marc Harding, vice provost for enrollment, and his team in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid for setting a new Pitt record again for applications.
“We are at 64,000 undergraduate applications for this year,” she said. “And there will be good news too on the yields … I will signal and foreshadow that there's good news there, too.”
Gabel shared that Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, “adding to our already significant numbers of newly elected National Academy members that I've mentioned in real time as they've been identified.”
Other accolades Gabel noted include:
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2025 Boren Awards for International Study winners John Danvers, a graduate student in the School of Public and International Affairs, who will study Turkish in Turkey; Kate McManus, a junior microbiology major in the in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and Frederick Honors College, who will study Russian in Estonia; and Michael Sipper, a senior political science major in the Dietrich School and Frederick Honors College, who will study Turkish in Turkey.
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Stamps Scholars in the 2025-26 incoming freshman class, including Pennsylvania high school seniors Camille Brenner, Ushan Dahal, Kailin Gao, Adam Paranich and Marisa Maisano, who Gabel said, “exemplify leadership, scholarship, service, perseverance and innovation, and will have all their costs covered.”
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Recent Pitt graduates, including Omicron Delta Kappa senior leader Gabriella Lombardi and Emma W. Locke Memorial Award winner Ashawnti Buckner.
Regarding spring commencement, Gabel said, “We had a wonderful commencement celebration,” and thanked “everyone who makes that happen in every way, including the students in our largest graduating class ever.”
The change of venue to PPG Paints Arena “went very, very smoothly, and we were able to accommodate the families who support their graduates in such an important, key moment,” she said. “So that was a really, really lovely day.”
Gabel went on to acknowledge those recently elected to University Senate, including new Senate Council President Kris Kanthak and Vice President Julia Meade. “And a shout out, of course, to Chris Bonneau for his longstanding service,” she said of the immediate past president of Senate Council.
She also offered a “big thank you” to outgoing Senate President Robin Kear.
“I'll just take a little privilege and speak for everybody on how wonderfully well you've done through some very interesting times in finding channels for us to exercise our voice in all of the ways we share across the governance model,” Gabel said. “And being a receiver of a lot in all different directions. And always turning it into something productive and positive.
“It's really great to work with you, and you leave big shoes to fill,” she said, “but I have lots of confidence in Kris and Julia to step into those.”
Gabel presented a gift to Kear “on behalf of everyone who has the good fortune to participate in one of the cornerstones of the University of Pittsburgh, which is shared governance,” she said. “It's a pleasure to present you with a small token of our appreciation.”
Bidding adieu
In her final report to Senate Council as its president, Robin Kear shared information she presented during the May 8 Faculty Assembly meeting while offering a heartfelt thanks to her shared governance colleagues.
She spoke of the “blood, sweat and tears and the sleepless nights, so to speak, of the effort that is involved behind the scenes in building and maintaining the Senate relationships that we have in many corners of the University for the benefit of Pitt. And I know that we are all engaged in this in our own way to make Pitt a better place.
“And while we may disagree sometimes on the methods and the processes, I firmly believe that the intention is the same,” she added. “Thank you all for your service and dedication to shared governance … Without those that show up, it wouldn't work at all.
“It has been an honor to do this work for the University and to carry the University mace at graduation and convocations.”
Kear expressed additional thank you’s along with a recap of the 2024-25 academic year in her Senate Matters column in the May 16 edition of University Times.
Senate Service Award
Kear presented the 2025 Senate Service Award to Małgorzata “Gosia” Fort, who is retiring after a highly notable career in the Health Sciences Library System at Pitt.
Fort worked at HSLS for 26 consecutive years, most recently as head of digital resource development (2012-2025). Her service to the University also includes three years as an officer in the University Senate, where she served as secretary from 2019 to 2022.
“She has been a health sciences library assistant, Faculty Assembly member from 2013 to 2019, and then came back again from 2022 to 2025 also,” Kear said.
“Gosia has always brought a very appreciated, grounded perspective to faculty shared governance that I always found helpful, and I have found her to be very conscientious, and a very dedicated member of the Senate,” Kear added. “Gosia always works hard to make it a better place, and we thank her for her efforts. And Gosia has officially retired from the University about a couple of weeks ago, so we also wish you well on your next chapter, but thank you for being here today.”
Fort, who graduated with a degree of master of library and information science from the University of Lodz (Poland), stayed at the university for the next nine years as a professor’s assistant, working on her PhD and teaching bibliography, information retrieval, and cataloging.
In relocating permanently to the U.S, she said she “reinvented” herself a little bit.
“I must admit that being in the Senate was the most rewarding experience for me, and that was definitely thanks to all of you,” she said. “Thank you very much.”
Staff Council report
In her Staff Council report, Rodzwicz said the group is preparing for its annual Staff Council Spring Assembly on May 28. Aligned with the Year of Discourse and Dialogue, the theme of this year’s event is “Conflict and Complex Conversation.”
Led by Frits Pil, distinguished service professor and professor of organizations and entrepreneurship in the School of Business, the two-hour event is open to staff on all campuses.
In other news, Rodzwicz extended gratitude to all who nominated or applied for this year's Staff Council Awards.
“We'll be notifying the winners of the Frisch Professional Development Award, the Staff Council Mentor Award and the Staff Council Endowed Book Fund in the coming days,” she said, noting they will be acknowledged at the Chancellor's Staff Recognition Ceremony on June 13.
“We also wanted to take a moment while everyone was here to recognize those colleagues who will be marking their milestone anniversaries at that event,” she said. “Their dedication and years of service are really deeply appreciated for all that they bring to our campus community.”
She also said they’re trying to get the word out about parking issues this summer. Work will be taking place at the Posvar garage, so it will be unavailable for reservations through the Parkmobile or Pitt Parking app throughout the summer. “So parking may be even more difficult in the summer, when it's usually easier,” she said.
Upcoming events include:
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A Coffee and Conversation featuring Christine Castro, School of Nursing dean, on May 22.
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Pitt’s Day at PNC Park takes place June 21. A special ticket offer includes the co-branded “Pirates of Pitt” jersey.
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Pitt Day at Kennywood will take place 28. Ticket information will be available soon.
The next Staff Council meeting takes place on May 21, “and all are welcome.”
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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