By SHANNON O. WELLS
Senate Council President Kris Kanthak launched her report at the final Faculty Assembly meeting of the 2025-26 academic year by reflecting on the May 3 spring commencement at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh’s North Shore.
She confessed that getting to “bang the gavel” at Faculty Assembly and Senate Council meetings in Posvar Hall is only her “second-favorite” thing about being president. At No. 1 is the opportunity to “hold the mace,” the ceremonial staff that she, as chief university marshal, gets to carry during events such as convocation or commencement.
“The mace is really more than just a very large stick with a cool, fancy, heavy thing on one end,” she said. “The tradition of the mace dates back to the Middle Ages, where a mace was the weapon of a dignitary’s security detail. Academic institutions borrowed the concept of the mace, which is meant to symbolize the authority of the University.”
In this sense, the mace “represents the power of the University to protect academic inquiry, literally to act as a physical defensive barrier against marauders who wish to do harm to academic freedom here at Pitt,” Kanthak elaborated. “We can disagree with each other. We can argue. We can make each other really, really mad, but if you try to actually, physically hurt someone, you could take the business end of a mace to the noggin’.”
By commencement, Kanthak said the faculty’s “work is finished” and they are there simply to “bear witness.”
“But I love the fact that we, as faculty, or at least some ceremonial subset of us, are there. We don’t bring anymore words of wisdom. We just bring the mace. The symbolism of this hits me somewhere in my feels, where there’s this Venn diagram of dedication to shared governance, love of intellectual inquiry and the protectiveness of a mama bear,” she added. “We’ve done good.
“The class of 2026 is ready. We get to pat ourselves on the back and then take a seat and watch them do what they’re going to do. Also, I should point out, it was super cool to be on the field at Acrisure Stadium.”
Moving on to the Senate Business, Kanthak said she and Robin Kear, the Senate’s immediate past president, will attend the upcoming meeting of the National Council for Faculty Senates. The event’s theme is “Policy Solutions for Complex Governance.”
“Shared governance continues to be a powerful tool in these trying times for academia,” Kanthak observed, “so it is always valuable and empowering to be in company with others around the country engaging in similar work on their campuses.”
In other news, the University Senate Health Sciences Affinity Group is seeking faculty representatives from each department and/or division in Pitt’s Health Sciences schools.
“As you recall, this body created the affinity group based on recent changes to our bylaws to address the particular needs and interests of Health Sciences faculty,” she said. “(The group) is beginning this important work of shaping its initial agenda and activity. All voices are welcome.”
In committee news:
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The Senate Research committee is considering creating an authorship dispute resolution committee and discussing potential changes to Pitt One Drive storage with Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer Mark Henderson. No final decision has been made regarding the committee.
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The Campus Utilization Planning and Safety committee has “had great success this semester in terms of helping to increase safety around campus, particularly around our myriad construction zones,” Kanthak said. “Their oversight of facilities and safety here at Pitt remains highly effective.”
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The Student Admission, Aid and Affairs committee “finished off the academic year strong, taking a deep dive into an issue very near to my heart, the educational experiences of rural students via learning more about the University’s Partners for Rural Student Success, Impact and Mobility (PRISSM).”
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The Ad Hoc Committee on General Education Requirements participated in a recent retreat and is “gearing up for busy summer again,” she said. “Shared governance is an essential part of the construction and implementation of undergraduate general education requirements. Any faculty who are interested in helping out, please contact me or (committee) Chair extraordinaire John Stoner.”
Stoner said the retreat was convened by Belkys Torres, associate vice provost for curricular innovation, and the Office of the Provost to discuss finalizing various elements of the Gen Ed Reform Project.
In other news, Senate committee elections concluded in April. “Thanks to all those who ran and voted for committee members,” she said. “Please remember to name chairs for the 2026-27 academic year before you break for summer.”
Also, the final Senate Council meeting of the academic year will take place on May 21 at Posvar Hall, with Chancellor Joan Gabel hosting a reception immediately after. “Please join us for the reception,” Kanthak said. “You do not need to be a member of Senate Council to attend.”
Kanthak concluded her report by extending “an official welcome to our new Senate Vice President John Stoner, who is now formally on the job.”
Policies approved
In other business, Faculty Assembly approved three new policies pertaining to academic visitors, the OneCard policy and purchasing practices.
Academic Visitors: The Academic Visitor Policy, which the Senate Research Committee discussed during its March 20 meeting, was created to bring clarity and transparency to the dynamic of research scholars visiting Pitt.
Bill Yates, vice chancellor for research protections, said in March that the Office of Research Security and Trade Compliance and provost’s office intended the policy to promote and clarify existing practices, providing “centralized guidance” to academic hosts and visitors about their rights and responsibilities. It also seeks to empower Pitt to implement practices needed for regulatory compliance while protecting the University and its visitors.
On behalf of the Faculty Affairs Committee, Francis Ferdinand, professor in the School of Medicine’s Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, described the policy to Faculty Assembly.
The rationale for the policy was “really to codify existing practices as something that essentially everyone’s doing anyway, but we really wanted to codify it and really disperse it throughout so it’s readily available and understood by all,” he said. “The practices were established to ensure compliance with evolving laws and regulations and define the rights and responsibilities of both the visitors and the University.”
This protects visitors by “ensuring they’re aware of the rights and responsibilities” and that hosts are aware of their responsibilities toward their visitors.
Responding to a question at Faculty Assembly, Yates clarified that the policy concerns visitors who are on campus “for a long period of time. We need to vet them carefully and make sure that they understand IP (intellectual property),” he said. “You don’t want somebody here doing a sabbatical (and) working out IP rights when they’re leaving, because that’s a big problem.”
Regarding scholars visiting labs, “which is a special carve-out” non-employees aren’t covered by Pitt workmen’s compensation insurance, he explained. “They can’t be, and if they’re injured in lab, they (must) have adequate health insurance to deal with that. We have to make sure that happens in advance of their visit.”
Regarding IP-related guidelines, Allen DiPalma, executive director in the Office of Research Protections, clarified that the Visitor Participation Agreement holds visitors to all applicable Pitt policies. “In the case of intellectual property … they are subject to our IP policy. If there’s a reason for the University to take ownership of it, for instance … if they participate in a federal project, and we have to do that because of federal standards, we have the means to do it.”
Responding to a question about an undergraduate student wanting to continue research in the summer after graduating, DiPalma explained that the provost’s guidance applies to undergraduates, while “graduate students and others above that level are covered under the Academic Visitor Policy.”
Faculty Assembly approved the policy with 29 voting yes, one voting no and two abstaining.
The OneCard Policy outlines the authority of the Payment Processing and Compliance Department to govern processes supporting the use of OneCard charge system. This includes establishing a process for obtaining a OneCard, an employee’s purchasing limits in consultation with the cardholder’s supervisor/manager, providing required training regarding the card’s use, evaluating expenses and limits in accordance with this and other University polices, and closing OneCards.
Juan Taboas, Budget Policies Committee chair and associate professor in the School of Dental Medicine, said the policy was presented “with the intent to clarify existing guidance, rather than change procedures. … It’s merging the former T card and P card policies into one policy and aligning it with the purchasing policies.
“It’s a payment policy, not a purchasing policy, but it aligns with the purchasing policy,” he explained. “It clarifies … and updates a cardholder’s responsibilities (such as) submitting your expenses on time so imputed (cash value) income isn’t calculated,” he said.
The policy describes allowable uses and recommended vendors listed on the Purchase, Pay & Travel website and “better describes the OneCard payment reporting, referring to expenses report and imputed income standards.
The committee recommended revising a chart “that was sourced out, because we noted some internal inconsistencies,” Taboas said. “One section says all books must be purchased through the OneCard, but a book has to be purchased through the purchasing system. So, they’re taking care of that.”
Senate Council Vice President John Stoner suggested a “friendly amendment” to policy language clarifying that, as with one’s personal credit card, the OneCard “should be kept secure and used appropriately.”
Faculty Senate passed the OneCard policy with 35 voting yes, one voting no, and two abstaining.
The Purchasing Authority and Responsibilities Policy supports and defines the University’s activities when purchasing goods or services in order to: 1) promote responsible stewardship of funds; 2) direct compliance with funding and regulatory requirements; and 3) support strategic sourcing initiatives.
To better align with new federal guidance, the Pitt committee developing a new policy changed charter language from encouraging sourcing from “underrepresented groups” to competitive bidding involving “small and local suppliers.”
Susan Graff, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Advocacy Committee (EIADAC) chair and that group’s representative for the policy committee, detailed the language change at EIADAC’s January meeting. The policy committee was charged with reviewing and proposing changes to University Policy FN 07 as well as documents to support its implementation.
The existing departmental purchasing policy was examined for anything that cost less than $10,000, which doesn’t require a competitive bidding process. The policy “strongly encouraged” sourcing products and services with suppliers from underrepresented groups and providing “good-faith effort documentation for that,” Graff said in January.
At Faculty Assembly, Graff said EIADAC was involved “to be cognizant of the potential equity implications in purchasing,” noting the policy “has gone through a couple iterations” leading to other policies being decommissioned and incorporated into the new one.
“There is a new mandate in which this policy gives the Strategic Sourcing Department the ability to develop (initiatives that) outline an additional goal of the purchasing policy,” she noted, to align purchasing processes to meet Pitt’s strategic goals. “It basically lumps all of these policies into kind of a one-stop shop.”
One new element is the Information Technology Purchases Risk Assessment, which she said codifies processes already in place into “part of a formal policy.”
Responding to a question about the policy’s “strategic sourcing” aspect, Graff said the “original spirit of the policy … was thinking about supplier diversity, particularly women-owned businesses, local and small business, as well as businesses owned by minoritized individuals.
“Understandably, with the changing national climate, that language has been adjusted to kind of get lumped under strategic initiatives.”
While protecting the University, this also “allows for flexibility in strategic sourcing, so that they can realign initiatives with their office,” she noted. “Right now, it’s local and small businesses, but they may choose to focus on sustainability or something else in the future. It gives them that flexibility.”
Faculty Assembly approved the revised Purchasing Policy with 36 voting yes, one no and two abstaining.
In closing the meeting, outgoing Senate Secretary Penny Morel, retired professor in the Department of Immunology, said “since this is my last Faculty Assembly meeting, that it’s been a real pleasure to be part of the shared governance for 10 to 12 years in different capacities. Thank you everyone. It’s been a real pleasure.”
Melanie Scott, associate professor of surgery in the School of Medicine, was elected new Senate Council secretary in April.
Shannon Wells is a University Times reporter. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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