Senate Council honors Gallagher for serving ‘as a partner’ with shared governance

By SHANNON O. WELLS

The Senate Service Award winner typically is one of the few surprises during Senate Council’s wrap-up meeting of the academic year, but given the circumstances in spring 2023, this year’s recipient wasn’t too hard to guess.

“Our Senate Service Award is given for outstanding contributions to the University of Pittsburgh through service in the University Senate,” said Senate Council President Robin Kear. “And this year's award was unanimous among the officers, and it goes to Chancellor (Patrick) Gallagher.”

Kear presented the Service Award plaque to Gallagher at the May 18 Senate Council meeting in Posvar Hall. It’s likely the final one he will attend as chancellor before stepping down in July. Joan T. Gabel will take over as Pitt’s chancellor on July 17.

“Thank you for choosing to lead Pitt,” Kear continued. “You have always treated shared governance and the University Senate with respect, as a partner to work with. You have an admirable trait to treat issues as opportunities and to look for creative solutions. In addition to all the positive public changes you’ve guided for Pitt, you’ve brought many improvements to governance processes that are more hidden (that) people don't always see.”

As part of the tribute, Kear addressed Gallagher with a “personal story” regarding his powers of persuasion in working with shared governance. “Several times I've approached you with a process question or an issue, and I had my position clear,” she said. “And then after listening to your knowledge and experience, willingness to see different angles — always in your very subtle manner — I have found I walked out with a new position.”

Gallagher’s “subtle manner” Kear noted, has also “helped us immensely in several lively discussions between the Senate officers and senior administration.

“Your ability to see the modern landscape of higher education and the economy is a great talent,” she added. “It has been a pleasure to work with you for so long, more than five years during my officer positions in the Senate. So thank you for your leadership, and we wish you the best in your next chapter.”

In addition to the plaque, Kear presented Gallagher with a care package including a coffee cup inscribed with “It’s in the syllabus” and red-ink correction pens for his upcoming faculty role, followed by a hearty round of applause from those gathered in the Posvar Hall conference room.

“Thank you very much for the recognition,” Gallagher said, adding that working with shared governance “really is a partnership, which feels a little bit circular to be recognized for something we were all part of. But you know, this is a time of change, and you're the point of continuity now in the University.

“And so as new leadership comes in — with the chancellor and provost level and a couple of deans — I would just reflect that maybe your role has never been more important to be that common view,” he added. “I would only ask that you could extend to the new leadership the same courtesy and dedication that you extended to me, and I think we’ll be great.”

Commencement changes

Following Gallagher’s Senate Council announcements, including Joe McCarthy’s appointment to the acting provost role, effective July 1, and the state budget (read more on that here), he and Provost Ann Cudd addressed a question about accessibility concerns and the new practice of ticketing for commencement ceremonies at the Petersen Events Center for this year’s April 30 event.

Cudd mentioned a plan for an “all-University” graduation beginning in December 2024. “So that may take some of the demand off the April-May graduation. … A lot of students may want to come then, because they're finishing in December,” she said.

Gallagher called the increased demand “in some ways a very good kind of problem to have,” noting steps to accommodate increased interest in recent years, including separating undergraduates from graduate student ceremonies.

“And that still hasn't been enough. … We wanted to make sure every student who is attending this ceremony at least has the same chance to bring family, so if you just did the math on capacity, that's where the four tickets per person came from,” he explained.

“Realizing not every student will use them all, we also tried to create a ticket swap … (but) we didn't anticipate the demand, so that information came up late.”

Also, many students also registered late for the event, making it difficult to know the final numbers, he added. Until an alternate location, such as PPG Paints Arena, which is typically in use for hockey playoff season in May, the “most obvious near-term thing is much more information early on, so that families can plan,” Gallagher said.

Student Government Board resolutions

Sarah Siddiqui, acting vice president of Pitt’s Student Government Board, shared updates on SGB allocations and resolutions regarding improvements to student housing and survivor advocate services. Here are some highlights:

  • The SGB finalized its fiscal year 2023 allocations report, which approved more than $1 million in funding. Siddiqui called this the “highest amount in Student Government Board history” and among the highest amounts approved for student activity spending “of any public university in the nation.”

  • The outgoing SGB board adopted a resolution for improved student housing and renting experiences for students. It calls on both the city of Pittsburgh and the University to act to “better the experience of students living both on and off campus,” Siddiqui said. The resolution asks for Pitt to provide a paid position to inspect off-campus housing and ensure protections for student renters. It also requests that Pitt guarantee on-campus housing for international students; provide quality education about renting and tenant rights to protect renters from predatory landlord practices; and support efforts to investigate and register landlords — including rental registration or landlord licensing programs — to ensure that students are in “livable and safe conditions” off campus.

  • The final SGB resolution focused on confidential support for survivors of sexual misconduct at Pitt, including hiring a confidential survivor advocate to serve as an entry point for students to begin the process of recovery; re-establishing a University-sponsored peer survivors support network; and expanding the peer survivor support network, especially availability of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape walk-in hours and opportunities for trainings.

Concluding her report, Siddiqui thanked Chancellor Gallagher and outgoing Provost Cudd “for their invaluable collaboration with the Student Government Board this year. Their leadership and dedication to our University have been truly impactful and have helped to foster a culture of inclusivity and academic excellence on campus,” she said. “Thank you both so much for your support of SGB throughout the years. It does not go unappreciated.

“The new board is excited to be participating in the shared governance process with you all, and we are excited to see what next year brings,” she added. “So, thank you so much.”

Part-time faculty access to services

Robin Kear shared an update from the May 10 Faculty Assembly meeting about adjunct instructors who’ve had problems using identification cards for things like bus and library access during summer months, saying Dwight Helfrich from Pitt IT is extending ID card access to include all part-time faculty, not just adjuncts, “which is a larger group, but it should be equitable.”

Noting that efforts to solve access problems to library, bus and other services for part-time faculty over the summer has been “a year in the making,” Kear encouraged anyone with questions or concerns to contact her, or Helfrich in IT.

Marks Policy

Senate Council approved Pitt’s updated Licensing and Use of University Name Logos, Trademarks and Service Marks policy, which establishes the Pitt’s “right to control the use of the University name, logos, trademarks and service marks; the nature and quality of goods or services with which they are associated; and, in order to achieve uniformity of presentation of the marks, the artistic form in which the marks are reproduced.”

It applies to identity marks — whether registered or not — that the University adopts or uses as word marks such as “University of Pittsburgh,” “Pitt” or “Pitt Panthers” and others containing graphic components, such as the University seal, a representation of a football helmet or a Panther mascot.

Faculty Assembly approved the updated policy, which was last reviewed in 2008, at its May 10 meeting.

“It’s sort of updating and simplifying the guidance within the policy on use of the mark, who is in charge of it and that kind of thing,” Senate Council Vice President Kris Kanthak explained at Faculty Assembly.

“It makes it easier to see where the brand standards are so that it’s easier to adhere to them,” she added. “It’s easier to get printed design suppliers who already know how to use the marks that are approved.”

Senate Council approved the marks policy with 35 voting yes, zero voting no, and one abstention.

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.

Follow the University Times on Twitter and Facebook