Searches for four high-level administrators continue, as Pitt looks for a new dean of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) and a director of the University Center for International Studies (UCIS), as well as for presidents of Pitt-Greensburg and Pitt-Johnstown. 

According to Robert F. Pack, vice provost for academic planning and resources management who chairs the search committees for the heads of UPJ and UPG, the regional campus search committees have identified a relatively large number of candidates who are visiting during January and February. 

At Greensburg, 10 candidates to succeed retiring campus President Frank A. Cassell have been invited to campus for interviews and presentations to faculty, staff and students, Pack said. Cassell is retiring June 30.

The Johnstown search is seeking a successor to Albert E. Etheridge, who also is retiring June 30. Nine candidates have been invited to the campus, Pack said. The new presidents are expected to be in place by the time the current presidents retire, he said. 

Regional campus presidents report to the provost. Both searches are being managed by Washington, D.C.-based R.H. Perry & Associates.

At GSPIA, David Y. Miller has been serving a one-year appointment as interim dean since July 1. Miller was named to succeed Carolyn Ban, who is on a one-year sabbatical and will return to a teaching position at the school next fall.

Andrew Blair, vice provost for faculty affairs who chairs the GSPIA dean’s search committee, said, “We started this search more than a year ago, and we identified some good candidates. But they did not work out.” The provost then charged committee members to re-start the search, which they did last summer, Blair said. 

“Since then, we identified eight candidates who came to interview on campus at the school, and following that process, we recommended a somewhat smaller number of candidates to the provost. So that part of the search is complete. I’m cautiously optimistic because of the high quality of the candidates that the provost will name a new GSPIA dean from that shorter list.”

Blair added that the hope is to have a new dean in place by the beginning of the fall term.

At UCIS, the provost has named Wolfgang Schlör, associate director of UCIS, as interim director while the search continues for the successor to William I. Brustein. Brustein left the University Dec. 31 for a position at the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign. 

George E. Klinzing, vice provost for research who chairs the search committee, said the committee hopes to recommend three to five candidates to the provost during February. He said six candidates are coming to campus over the next few weeks. 

The hope is to have a new UCIS director in place by Aug. 1, Klinzing said.

The new UCIS director also will serve as senior director of international programs.

—Peter Hart, via University Times

Pitt-Johnstown’s former Alumni Relations manager has been sentenced to up to two years in jail for his involvement in a sexual relationship with a Cambria County teenager.

A Cambria County judge on Jan. 17 sentenced William A. Gillin to between one and two years in the county jail for corruption of a minor. 

Gillin, who was suspended without pay after his arrest and later resigned, was among five men arrested last March for their involvement in the sexual relationships that developed following Internet chat room conversations with the boy.

Gillin pleaded guilty in August to two counts of indecent assault on a person less than 16 years old (a second-degree misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of two years for each count); two counts of unlawful contact or communication with a minor, and two counts of corruption of a minor, both of which are first-degree misdemeanors that carry a maximum five-year sentence for each count.

The most serious charges — corruption of a minor — led to the sentence of 1-2 years in the Cambria County Jail, said Cambria County District Attorney Patrick Kiniry. In addition, Gillin must pay a $10,000 fine plus the cost of prosecution and administrative costs. He also must serve five years of probation following his release from jail. In addition, Gillin was ordered to continue with counseling and to have no contact with juveniles in sexual situations, Kiniry said.

Gillin’s guilty plea on the unlawful contact charges invoked Megan’s Law, which required an evaluation by the state’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board to determine whether Gillin would be deemed a sexually violent predator — a designation that would have required him to register with police for the rest of his life. The board found him not to be sexually violent. As a result, Gillin must only register as a sexual offender for 10 years. 

A second former UPJ employee involved in the case, Jeffrey Haire, who had been a part-time police officer on the Johnstown campus, pleaded guilty in August to one count of corruption of a minor, a first-degree misdemeanor. He was fined and sentenced in November to between nine and 24 months of house arrest. 

The boy’s age has been a crucial factor in the resolution of the case.

Gillin became involved with the teen before the boy turned 16, which is the age of consent in Pennsylvania. Haire faced lesser charges because he became involved after the boy had turned 16.

—Kimberly K. Barlow, via University Times

Pitt News Staff 
January 17, 2007 

It’s last call at Pitt Johnstown.
The University branch campus recently announced a new… It’s last call at Pitt Johnstown.
The University branch campus recently announced a new policy regarding on-campus parties held by campus-recognized groups, according to the Associated Press.

The new policy, expected to go into effect on Feb. 1, will outlaw kegs, hard liquor and glass bottles. No alcohol will be served after 1:30 a.m. with the proposed policy, and party guests will be allowed to bring in one six-pack of beer that they must check at the door with a sober student. This poor schmuck will also be in charge of monitoring alcohol distribution at the party.

While the concept of a sober student isn’t exactly revolutionary – most greek organizations exercise this practice already – the other measures seem to be ill-conceived.

The UPJ officials that came up with this less-than-brilliant plan aren’t going to be doing anything other than moving drinking off campus and killing the long social tradition of greek-sponsored parties. Students will find a way to get around the rules or they’ll just go off campus. This situation isn’t good for anyone.

One of the advantages of the UPJ campus is its layout and location. It’s a close-knit, woodland campus. In the past, students didn’t need to hop in their cars and drive any distance to socialize. And without a comprehensive public transit service, being able to party on campus was a good thing for students.

These new rules might very well achieve the opposite of their intended goal. It might force people off campus and into cars to find a party. We’re pretty sure UPJ doesn’t want to inadvertently or indirectly encourage drunk driving.

Organizations who want to socialize will have to register and be approved by the Student Life office as well as submit a guest list.

Have these people ever gone to college or a party? We don’t RSVP to parties. We get invited and we go. Or we don’t. There’s no way to come up with a comprehensive list beforehand. Maybe groups could print out the Facebook page advertising the party. That way, they’d know that three people will definitely be there, five people won’t, 75 people might attend and 304 have not responded. Fools.
Considering that UPJ isn’t at the top of most people’s top 10 party schools, we think this is overkill. Hopefully, student groups and administrators will be able to come up with a compromise that will recognize that the students as adults, maintain a social scene on campus and head off any potential party-related problems.
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Maybe UPJ administrators just need to step back, relax and have a drink.

READ MORE: EDITORIAL – UPJ kisses its kegs goodbye