Senate OKs policies on facilities and grounds, new employee relocation

By SHANNON O. WELLS

When not hashing out recent issues between the University Senate and the Union of Pitt Faculty regarding the administration’s role in policy discussions, the Senate Council at its Dec. 8 meeting heard reports on staff and faculty accomplishments, sustainability milestones, and approved policies related to Pitt facilities and grounds and employee relocation.

During his regular Senate report, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher shared the following updates regarding staff, faculty and recent Pitt initiatives:

  • The American Marketing Association named Kate Ledger, acting vice chancellor for communications and marketing, Higher Education Marketer of the Year. “Congratulations to Kate,” Gallagher said. “We all know what a great job she does.”

  • LifeX, Pitt’s life sciences incubator, recently received a $1 million grant from a brand-new Commonwealth Program designed to encourage early stage financing of life science-oriented businesses. “So our biotech startups (will) have access to move funding at that critical early stage,” Gallagher said. “This really strengthens our capacity to seek new companies and innovations, and I think importantly position Pitt as a leader in the Commonwealth and hopefully in the country as a hub for that kind of biotechnology.”

  • Gallagher acknowledged construction of the Vesper Gaucho Solar Array project near Clinton, Pa., and Pittsburgh International Airport. The farm, “will supply electricity to the University of Pittsburgh for the next two decades,” he said of the 68-acre site that is expected to be online by spring 2023. “We have secured 100 percent of the project’s energy and environmental attributes. ... And that's about 80 percent of our campus electrical usage, and that will save the University billions of dollars.”

  • He congratulated the 2022 Chancellor’s Award for Staff winners.

Staff Council

In her report, Lindsay Rodzwicz, Staff Council president and Pitt bioengineering program administrator, shared several events scheduled for the spring 2023 term, including the following virtual Staff Council Spotlight information sessions:

  • Noon Jan. 18: Council will host a Title IX seminar with Zachary Davis, gender and discrimination and Title IX response manager in Pitt’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, along with several other panelists.

  • Noon Feb. 8: Recruitment session with the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences hiring team, including Maureen Lazar, director of workforce effectiveness. “They're (offering) some really innovative tips and tricks and things with their recruitment team in Arts and Sciences.

  • 1:30 p.m. March 6: “We have the always hot topic of parking at Pitt,” Rodzwicz said to a chorus of whoops and applause. The presentation features Kevin Sheehy, assistant vice chancellor for auxiliary operations and finance.

Rodzwicz highlighted Staff Council’s call for new members open for onboarding in 2023. “We aim to have a diverse representation from all units across the Pittsburgh campus to represent the voice of staff in shared governance of the University,” she said. Staff members interested in serving in shared governance can apply on the Staff Council website.

The next Staff Council open general meeting will be at noon Feb. 15. The December meeting will be a closed session for staff council members dedicated to “strategically plan for the remainder of the school year,” Rodzwicz said.  

Facilities and grounds policy

Senate Council unanimously passed a comprehensive facilities and grounds policy that was reviewed by the Campus Utilization, Planning and Safety Committee in late October. The policy is intended to:

  • Establish the authority and responsibilities for the management of the University facilities and grounds.

  • Establish and codify a “standard of care” for operations and maintenance of facilities.

  • Consolidate into a single policy from various prior “directives” regarding design and construction project management.

Relocation policy

Senate Council also passed a relocation policy, which will govern how the University reimburses departments and units that decide to pay for specific moving expenses of new faculty or staff. The policy governs reimbursement for relocation expenses of full-time faculty or staff — both new hires and current employees transferring to a new University location — and covers moving household items and traveling. The policy does not cover lab or other research or teaching materials, which are covered by another policy.

“This policy is about the system for reimbursing newly hired or transferring employees for certain costs that are associated with relocating to work in a job,” explained Linda Tashbook, chair of the Benefits and Welfare committee. “It (applies to) any of our campuses. The location benefit is only available to individuals who are accepting full-time staff or faculty positions and who have agreed to serve for a full year at least in that position.”

The benefit is not automatic, and the University unit hiring the employee has the option of offering relocation expenses.

“This policy does not set forth any standards for when or how to inform new hires or transferees about the possibility of getting reimbursed for relocation expenses,” Tashbook said. “It merely establishes a framework for paying relocation expenses reimbursement.”

The Senate’s Benefits and Welfare Committee, at its Sept. 20 meeting, had requested several changes to the policy, including language to make sure relocation expenses were offered equitably to all new or transferring employees in each department, unit or school. Anthony Graham, senior policy specialist in the Office of Policy Development and Management, assured the committee that the revised policy created no new restrictions. For example, a previous need for approval of moves on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays would be eased under the new policy.

Chancellor Gallagher explained that this is a topic that falls under the faculty union’s potential mandatory subjects of collective bargaining, which exclude the administration from discussions and voting.

With no additional comments or questions, Senate Council passed the policy, with 31 voting yes, zero voting no, and six abstentions from members of Pitt administration in attendance.

Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.

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