\n\tBy MARTY LEVINE<\/p>\n
\n\tKevin Washo\u2019s family made sure his introduction to Pitt and Pittsburgh was done in the right manner, he told the latest Staff Council Coffee and Conversation event on June 25.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile they were touring colleges after high school, an uncle suggested they visit Washo\u2019s cousins at Pitt. But upon arrival, the family, from Scranton, stayed at the airport overnight so they could drive in under daylight.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tCOMING NEXT<\/p>\n
\n\t\tThe next Staff Council Coffee and Conversation is with Jana Sestili, director of Event & Conference Services, Hospitality@Pitt, at 11 a.m. Aug. 20, at the University Club, 123 University Place.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHe actually wanted me to have the visual of coming into the city from the Fort Pitt Tunnel in the morning,\u201d Washo said. \u201cIt was a one of those beautiful fall days, no rain, it was perfect and it was the first time I was ever in Pittsburgh. I fell in love with it from that day. I never would have thought I\u2019d be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tWasho, who graduated in 2004 from Pitt with a political science and communications degree and was later appointed as a commonwealth trustee to the University\u2019s Board of Trustees, is now senior vice chancellor for external relations.<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter his Pitt student days, he said, \u201cI spent most of my time in a combination of politics, government and nonprofits.\u201d Nine years ago, \u201coddly enough, I was looking to do something different with my life and one day I get a call out of the blue from Paul Supowitz, our long-time head of community and government relations. I knew Paul from my undergraduate days, and he said that Chancellor Gallagher was looking for a new chief of staff. I flew out to Pittsburgh, met with Pat for two hours, and then the rest is history.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI was also president of student government, which was kind of a neat experience,\u201d as an undergraduate, he added. \u201cYou learn a lot about yourself in those early years. So I get to actually work with Chancellor Emeritus (Mark) Nordenberg quite often. Being an undergrad and working with the chancellor, you know you\u2019re learning from really smarter people. Then you come back and then you get to work with Mark on a daily basis, it\u2019s really something you can\u2019t get in a classroom. Just observing how people operate, observing how they handle things, how they handle pressure, how they handle the public dynamic, it was just a very interesting experience.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cA lot of people at Pitt \u2014 that was one of the draws coming back,\u201d Washo continued. \u201cCharlie McLaughlin (senior director, commonwealth relations, in Community and Governmental Relations), I know Charlie since I was 18 years old. So, a unique opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHe appreciated not only the mentors he has had but the chance to learn from others in action: \u201cI\u2019ve always been a big observer of how people operate on a daily basis. How do people lead teams? How do people surround themselves with good people? I\u2019ve always tried to take little bits and pieces of people that I\u2019ve admired over my career and bring that into my own world, and do it my way, but still remember: How would they handle it? Who would they hire?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAsked what fueled the continued evolution of his career, Washo explained: \u201cChancellor (Joan) Gabel had a really, really great vision in terms of how she wants things structured.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tWasho said the chancellor wanted \u201creally rethink how we\u2019re talking about Pitt externally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat involved bringing together philanthropic and alumni engagement, community relations, government relations and the communications team, \u201cjust to make sure that we had an outward-facing group that was seeing it from the same (perspective). A lot of other universities are actually now trying the model and we get a lot of calls from universities: How do you do it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tEvent moderator Sam Young or Staff Council asked Washo how Pitt \u201ccan continue to improve its reputation compared to peer institutions when reputation and even rankings are so non-scientific and not based on clear metrics?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019m so proud of our communications and marketing,\u201d Washo answered. \u201cI think we have the best team in the country. I really do. It helps when you have great faculty and staff to push stories. They\u2019re aggressive, they\u2019re smart, they deal with integrity and hopefully you\u2019ve been seeing more of an uptick in the earned media and the paid media. But it\u2019s very complicated on the reputation side. The best thing you can do for reputation is make sure we\u2019re doing everything we can to support our faculty and staff so they could do their job. You just have to be dogged on pushing out your message.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIn this environment we\u2019re all challenged. It\u2019s a place I love, it\u2019s a place that gave me a lot, it\u2019s a place (where I) kind of grew up in many respects. I probably won\u2019t be working at another university. I feel like I still have a lot to give back and I\u2019m excited about the next year or two, especially as we gear up for fundraising campaigns. We lay that foundation again for that next group of people to come after us, and we\u2019re all caretakers here.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cPart of the excitement about working in higher ed is that it\u2019s so complex but it gives you a real opportunity to grow and I think that\u2019s why we\u2019re on this earth. Even as we get older we all want to continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tQuestioned about his work-life balance, Washo said: \u201cI had a boss one time who gave me great advice. \u2018Kevin, when your work is done for the day, go home. You\u2019re not going to get any brownie points for being here late. So if you can, work smart, go home, enjoy whatever it is you do.\u2019 I was 26 or 27 at the time. I\u2019d never heard anyone say that before, because you\u2019re trained: I gotta do this, I gotta grind, but there\u2019s a certain point where, if you don\u2019t feel good about yourself mentally or physically, you\u2019re not going to be able to perform to your level of work, and that\u2019s not going to be good for anybody \u2014 mostly yourself. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve tried to create at least a culture on it, and we\u2019re not perfect by any stretch, but we take \u2014 I don\u2019t want to say \u2018work-life balance because I just don\u2019t like that term \u2014 but we take it very seriously. When you\u2019re off, you should be off. If you\u2019re with your kids, you should be with your kids. You want to coach that baseball game, you should coach that baseball game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMarty Levine is a staff writer for the University Times. Reach him at martyl@pitt.edu<\/a> or 412-758-4859.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHave a story idea or news to share? Share<\/a> it with the University Times.<\/p>\n