School of Social Work fires two, closes meeting to public, press

University officials refused to let reporters into a School of Social Work meeting discussing… University officials refused to let reporters into a School of Social Work meeting discussing the recent firing of two secretaries in the department, both of whom had spent more than 35 years with the University.

Anyone within the School of Social Work concerned with the recent layoffs was asked to attend yesterday’s meeting.

Reporters from both the University Times and The Pitt News were asked to leave by John Greeno, Human Resources, at the start of the meeting.

According to Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Robert Hill, it is the discretion of the dean of that given department as to whether or not a meeting is open or closed.

Larry Davis, dean of the School of Social Work, closed the meeting, but the public was made aware that the meeting was taking place.

There was a need for the confidentiality at the meeting to protect those involved according to Hide Yamatani, associate dean of research.

“There could have been a particular instance that someone’s name could have been mentioned, but no one specific person’s name was mentioned,” he said. “It was mainly for protection of the staff members being let go.”

A dean wanting to protect the privacy of his staff is “not unusual protocol,” according to Yamatani.

“All of us would have felt uncomfortable [if their confidentiality was broken], but we are regretful that we had to ask you to leave,” Yamatani said.

Before Greeno asked The Pitt News reporter to leave, Davis said, “This is an unpleasant sort of occasion, but it also provides a good opportunity within the department.”

The two secretaries were told last Monday about the layoffs and were given two weeks notice.

According to Yamatani, if the two secretaries were to take a different job in the department, they would be taking a 40 percent cut in salary.

“We feel it was hardly fair to let them take the pay cut,” Yamatani said, explaining why the two secretaries were not offered the other jobs.

The day before the meeting, Davis said that there were “University-wide cuts” and “budget cuts from the state which required us to reduce the number of staff we have.”

The first half of the meeting focused on questions and concerns of the staff, and the second half concentrated on discussions of further employment, according to Yamatani.

According to Davis, there are two parts to the budget: the social and the economic.

When asked about a law or rule that states who decides whether a meeting is open or closed, Yamatani said, “I’ve never seen anything written down about [meeting laws or regulations], but I am a newcomer into this area of administration.”

Yamatani has been with the School of Social Work since July.

“Ultimately, we are hoping to make this layoff minimal in terms of them securing other comparable positions,” Yamatani said.