\n\tBy SHANNON O. WELLS<\/p>\n
\n\tIn her report to Senate Council, Chancellor Joan Gabel made it clear from the get-go that the Department of Labor inspector general\u2019s recent\u00a0subpoena regarding Pitt\u2019s J-1 travel visa program<\/a>\u00a0will be handled with transparency and a sense of confidence that the University is fully compliant.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI 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,\u201d she said at the Oct. 15 meeting in Posvar Hall. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tGabel, who attended the Senate Council meeting remotely while traveling, explained that the subpoena itself is \u201csimply a request for information.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe’re in the process of going through the different steps associated with answering a subpoena,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is something that the Office of University Council oversees, but \u2026 we are very confident in our programs and that they are administered in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe investigation will examine \u201calleged misuse and misclassification\u201d within J\u20111 visa programs at institutions that \u201ccollectively receive billions of dollars in federally supported research funding,\u201d according to a Department of Labor news release on Oct. 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tInspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito\u00a0said, \u201capproximately 61% of postdoctoral workers and researchers supported by federal grants at the nine universities are foreign nationals,\u201d compared to 38% at other universities.<\/p>\n \n\tOther universities the Department of Labor subpoenaed are Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Brown, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State University and MIT.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGabel also discussed a piece of Congressional legislation called the \u201cProtect College Sports Act<\/a>.\u201d She called this the first, in her observation, \u201cpotentially viable piece of legislation around the way in which college sports has evolved so dramatically over these last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIt statutorily prohibits institutions, conferences or interstate intercollegiate athletic associations, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), from \u201crestricting student athletes from entering NIL agreements (subject to specified limitations),\u201d as the bill reads.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tPitt administration drafted a formal letter to the Pennsylvania legislative delegation supporting the act, emphasizing the \u201ccritical need to safeguard long-term sustainability in college athletics,\u201d Gabel said. She called the letter a \u201cculmination of a lot of advocacy\u201d through Pitt individually, the Athletics Department and the Government Relations team.<\/p>\n \n\tSenate passed the legislation, which is now headed to the House, presumably after the Nov. 3 General Election. \u201cWe will see what happens. I have no prediction on the likelihood of its outcome, but that effort is underway,\u201d Gabel said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \tComprehensive campaign\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn other news, the chancellor provided an update on the\u00a0Plan for Pitt<\/a>, which is now in its third year. \u201cWe’re focused on the 2026 outcomes, which are all on schedule,\u201d she noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe biggest goal for 2026 was the launch of the University\u2019s\u00a0Comprehensive Campaign<\/a>\u00a0called \u201cProving Possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI’m sure all of you saw that kickoff happen\u201d in association with the\u00a0100th anniversary of the Cathedral of Learning<\/a>. \u201cHuge thanks to so many people to make that possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThat included the Board of Trustees and Chair\u00a0John J. Verbanac,\u00a0who was \u201cvery active in it,\u201d all the boards of visitors and \u201clots of different leaders across the University.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGabel expressed \u201cgreat appreciation\u201d to the Campaign Advisory Committee and Kevin Washo, senior vice chancellor for external relations, and his team, who Gabel called \u201cabsolute rock stars.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShe also thanked former Pitt Panthers and Arizona Cardinals football great Larry Fitzgerald, who \u201cvery graciously emceed the event for us. He was a prince about the whole thing,\u201d she noted, along with Debbie Gillotti and Pete\u00a0Varischetti, University trustees and co-chairs of the campaign committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n \tHealth Sciences leadership update<\/p>\n \n\tIn 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.\u00a0\u201cThis is our sixth one, if you can believe that,\u201d she said of the Town Halls.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWebinar questions are batched into themes to get through as much information as possible. \u201cIf 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.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe 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 \u2026 We are very committed to providing information as we have it (and) also trying to respect everybody’s time.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOn another topic, Gabel acknowledged the \u201cbig search\u201d going on right now for Pitt\u2019s 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 \u201coff and running.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGabel reiterated that Shekhar has \u201cvery graciously agreed to serve\u201d until his successor is in the chair to help with the \u201csmoothness of the transition.\u201d<\/p>\n \tEnrollment \u2018sweet spot\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe chancellor moved on to share final numbers on Pitt\u2019s incoming class.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe have an incredible group of new students, first years and transfers, and grad students and professional students \u2014 very strong academically \u2014 selected from a record number of applications and one of our biggest classes,\u201d she noted. \u201cAs 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe’re trying to hit the perfect sweet spot in growth and capacity,\u201d she added. \u201cWe came a lot closer this year.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tGabel expressed thanks to\u00a0Kellie Kane, interim vice provost for enrollment and executive director of admissions,\u00a0and the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid (OAFA) team. \u201cI know a lot of faculty and staff are very directly involved in that work, so we\u2019re grateful for that too.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn labor relations news, Gabel said staff unionization is progressing. Tentative agreement has been reached on 21 of 23 provisions in active negotiation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFor 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSo, things are rolling,\u201d Gabel said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \tCommencement and accolades<\/p>\n \n\tShe went on to acknowledge the United Way Campaign, which kicked off Oct. 1. She thanked Dwayne Pinkney,\u00a0executive senior vice chancellor for administration & finance and chief financial officer, and\u00a0Lina Dostilio,\u00a0vice chancellor for external relations, \u201cwho co-chair that work,\u201d and Pitt\u2019s partnership with United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBill Haldeman in my office sits on that board,\u201d Gabel noted. \u201cThere’s a lot of obviously very important partnership and goodwill there.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe chancellor went on to share information about the upcoming\u00a0Winter Commencement<\/a>, 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis year we are doing doctoral\u00a0hoodings\u00a0separately, on Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. at Victory Heights, and eligible graduates will be getting their invitations imminently,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you have any questions, of course, let us know.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe commencement speaker has yet to be announced. \u201cWe’re pretty close, and we’ll send out news about that once that’s finalized.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGabel shifted her report to share campus accolades or \u201cshout-outs,\u201d recognizing special accomplishments and awards. They include:\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tSusan 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.<\/p>\n \t\tThe Pittsburgh campus for\u00a0jumping 10 spots in the U.S. News rankings<\/a>\u00a0and moving up eight spots to number 24 amongst public universities.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tU.S. News\u2019 Regional Campus rankings – North Region, ranked Johnstown at No. 19; Pitt-Bradford at 25, and Pitt-Greensburg at 36.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tSustainability Month and Aurora Sharrard, assistant vice chancellor for Pitt Sustainability, for\u00a0three inaugural climate action milestones<\/a>\u00a0reached during Sustainability Month.<\/p>\n \t\tMike Arenth and Bridget Ridge for\u00a0being 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,\u201d Gabel said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tThe School of Nursing for being named\u00a0one of the\u00a0best schools by the American Association for Men in Nursing (AAMN<\/a>) for the fifth consecutive year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tDeborah Polk, Pitt Dental Medicine associate professor, for being named the\u00a02026 recipient of the American Dental Association’s Evidence-Based Dentistry Award<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tRobin Brooks, associate professor in the Dietrich School\u2019s Department of English, for being awarded a Trustees Fellowship by the National Humanities Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tEveryone who participated in the\u00a02026 Day of Caring<\/a>\u00a0on Oct. 2,\u00a0and all of the \u201cBe a Good Neighbor\u201d block parties across the month of September.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tShannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at\u00a0shannonw@pitt.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHave a story idea or news to share?\u00a0Share<\/a>\u00a0it with the University Times.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n