By SHANNON O. WELLS
In her report to Senate Council, Chancellor Joan Gabel made it clear from the get-go that the Department of Labor inspector general’s recent subpoena regarding Pitt’s J-1 travel visa program will be handled with transparency and a sense of confidence that the University is fully compliant.
“I know everyone has seen the news that last week the University received a subpoena from the Department of Labor inspector general asking a number of broad questions regarding the visa programs in which the University participates,” she said at the Oct. 15 meeting in Posvar Hall. “The subpoena is reported in the news to be part of an investigation into the J-1 visa program, and we are aware that other universities received the same subpoena.”
Gabel, who attended the Senate Council meeting remotely while traveling, explained that the subpoena itself is “simply a request for information.”
“We’re in the process of going through the different steps associated with answering a subpoena,” she said. “It is something that the Office of University Council oversees, but … we are very confident in our programs and that they are administered in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.”
The investigation will examine “alleged misuse and misclassification” within J‑1 visa programs at institutions that “collectively receive billions of dollars in federally supported research funding,” according to a Department of Labor news release on Oct. 9.
Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito said, “approximately 61% of postdoctoral workers and researchers supported by federal grants at the nine universities are foreign nationals,” compared to 38% at other universities.
Other universities the Department of Labor subpoenaed are Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Brown, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State University and MIT.
Gabel also discussed a piece of Congressional legislation called the “Protect College Sports Act.” She called this the first, in her observation, “potentially viable piece of legislation around the way in which college sports has evolved so dramatically over these last couple of years.”
The bill establishes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student athletes and provides a limited antitrust exemption for schools and conferences to pool and sell certain college sports media rights.
It statutorily prohibits institutions, conferences or interstate intercollegiate athletic associations, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), from “restricting student athletes from entering NIL agreements (subject to specified limitations),” as the bill reads.
Pitt administration drafted a formal letter to the Pennsylvania legislative delegation supporting the act, emphasizing the “critical need to safeguard long-term sustainability in college athletics,” Gabel said. She called the letter a “culmination of a lot of advocacy” through Pitt individually, the Athletics Department and the Government Relations team.
Senate passed the legislation, which is now headed to the House, presumably after the Nov. 3 General Election. “We will see what happens. I have no prediction on the likelihood of its outcome, but that effort is underway,” Gabel said.
Comprehensive campaign
In other news, the chancellor provided an update on the Plan for Pitt, which is now in its third year. “We’re focused on the 2026 outcomes, which are all on schedule,” she noted.
The biggest goal for 2026 was the launch of the University’s Comprehensive Campaign called “Proving Possible.”
“I’m sure all of you saw that kickoff happen” in association with the 100th anniversary of the Cathedral of Learning. “Huge thanks to so many people to make that possible.”
That included the Board of Trustees and Chair John J. Verbanac, who was “very active in it,” all the boards of visitors and “lots of different leaders across the University.”
Gabel expressed “great appreciation” to the Campaign Advisory Committee and Kevin Washo, senior vice chancellor for external relations, and his team, who Gabel called “absolute rock stars.”
She also thanked former Pitt Panthers and Arizona Cardinals football great Larry Fitzgerald, who “very graciously emceed the event for us. He was a prince about the whole thing,” she noted, along with Debbie Gillotti and Pete Varischetti, University trustees and co-chairs of the campaign committee.
Health Sciences leadership update
In other news, Gabel announced the Town Hall Webinar on Oct. 21 (see related story) and explained the process for submitting questions through an online link. “This is our sixth one, if you can believe that,” she said of the Town Halls.
Webinar questions are batched into themes to get through as much information as possible. “If there’s time left over, and there usually is, we take questions from the webinar room, so to speak. We have the whole senior leadership team there available to answer the questions.
“We never have time to answer everything, but every single person who asks us a question that isn’t answered during the webinar, or who follows up with a question, gets an answer … We are very committed to providing information as we have it (and) also trying to respect everybody’s time.”
On another topic, Gabel acknowledged the “big search” going on right now for Pitt’s new senior vice chancellor for Health Sciences to take the place of outgoing Senior Vice Chancellor Anantha Shekhar. The search committee has been finalized and is “off and running.”
The search committee started working together the week of Oct. 19, finalizing the position profile and learning about those who have expressed interest. The estimated timeline calls for first-round interviews before the end of the calendar year, second-round interviews shortly after the new year, and the chosen candidate announced in spring 2027.
Gabel reiterated that Shekhar has “very graciously agreed to serve” until his successor is in the chair to help with the “smoothness of the transition.”
Enrollment ‘sweet spot’
The chancellor moved on to share final numbers on Pitt’s incoming class.
“We have an incredible group of new students, first years and transfers, and grad students and professional students — very strong academically — selected from a record number of applications and one of our biggest classes,” she noted. “As you may recall, we intentionally didn’t try to break the record this year because as exciting as last year was, it was also a lot.
“We’re trying to hit the perfect sweet spot in growth and capacity,” she added. “We came a lot closer this year.”
Gabel expressed thanks to Kellie Kane, interim vice provost for enrollment and executive director of admissions, and the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid (OAFA) team. “I know a lot of faculty and staff are very directly involved in that work, so we’re grateful for that too.”
In labor relations news, Gabel said staff unionization is progressing. Tentative agreement has been reached on 21 of 23 provisions in active negotiation.
For graduate students, tentative agreement has been reached on all of the 20 provisions in negotiation. The faculty union has 10 provisions in active negotiation with eight tentatively agreed upon.
“So, things are rolling,” Gabel said.
Commencement and accolades
She went on to acknowledge the United Way Campaign, which kicked off Oct. 1. She thanked Dwayne Pinkney, executive senior vice chancellor for administration & finance and chief financial officer, and Lina Dostilio, vice chancellor for external relations, “who co-chair that work,” and Pitt’s partnership with United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“Bill Haldeman in my office sits on that board,” Gabel noted. “There’s a lot of obviously very important partnership and goodwill there.”
The chancellor went on to share information about the upcoming Winter Commencement, whose University-wide ceremony is set for Sunday, Dec. 13, at 3 p.m. in the Petersen Events Center for those receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
“This year we are doing doctoral hoodings separately, on Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. at Victory Heights, and eligible graduates will be getting their invitations imminently,” she said. “If you have any questions, of course, let us know.”
The commencement speaker has yet to be announced. “We’re pretty close, and we’ll send out news about that once that’s finalized.”
Gabel shifted her report to share campus accolades or “shout-outs,” recognizing special accomplishments and awards. They include:
Susan Fullerton of the Swanson School of Engineering, who was named a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation 2026 Experimental Physics Investigator, one of only 21 researchers selected nationwide.
The Pittsburgh campus for jumping 10 spots in the U.S. News rankings and moving up eight spots to number 24 amongst public universities.
U.S. News’ Regional Campus rankings – North Region, ranked Johnstown at No. 19; Pitt-Bradford at 25, and Pitt-Greensburg at 36.
Sustainability Month and Aurora Sharrard, assistant vice chancellor for Pitt Sustainability, for three inaugural climate action milestones reached during Sustainability Month.
Mike Arenth and Bridget Ridge for being named permanent co-executive directors of the Center for Teaching and Learning. “Many thanks to them, both for their interim work and for being willing to lean in permanently,” Gabel said.
The School of Nursing for being named one of the best schools by the American Association for Men in Nursing (AAMN) for the fifth consecutive year.
Deborah Polk, Pitt Dental Medicine associate professor, for being named the 2026 recipient of the American Dental Association’s Evidence-Based Dentistry Award.
Robin Brooks, associate professor in the Dietrich School’s Department of English, for being awarded a Trustees Fellowship by the National Humanities Center.
Everyone who participated in the 2026 Day of Caring on Oct. 2, and all of the “Be a Good Neighbor” block parties across the month of September.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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