Homecoming Edition: Russell: Don’t take chances with Pitt’s new chancellor

What does electing a new chancellor have to do with your experience as a student at Pitt? More than you think. 

As most of you know by now, Chancellor Mark Nordenberg will officially retire in August 2014. Although there’s almost an entire year for Pitt to find a replacement, the University has already started assembling a Chancellor Search Committee. In addition to faculty members, alumni, Pitt administrators and the Board of Trustees, Pitt students will also be a part of the selection process. Specifically, this responsibility will go to Student Government Board member Amelia Brause and Graduate and Professional Student Government president David Gau. 

The word “chancellor” sounds like an overly pretentious name to compensate for the limited job responsibilities of the person holding the title, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the duties of a university chancellor have a major impact on students’ collegiate careers. 

A university chancellor is essentially the top official at a college or university. It’s really just a fancy word for a president when you get down to it. A chancellor is the chief executive officer, overseer of university programs and ultimate head of every department. Perhaps most importantly, a chancellor determines how all university funding will be allotted. This means that if the equipment in the biology lab hasn’t been updated in five years due to budget cuts, the chancellor is ultimately to blame.

Of course, in a large university like Pitt, attending to the needs of every department and every student can be difficult — especially with continuous government budget cuts for education. 

All of this brings me to a single point: Why should you care? 

In any kind of hierarchical structure, the individuals at the bottom of the pyramid — in this case, the students — can sometimes feel powerless in the decision-making process at the top. But if enough students band together, they can have a louder voice to impact policies made by those in power. 

In 2011, the state of Pennsylvania cut support for the Pitt medical school, dental school, Graduate School of Public Health and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. If you’re a student in one of these schools, these budget cuts likely affected the quality of your education at the University. 

Moreover, tuition rates are a concern for all students, many of whom have to take out interest-piling loans to fund their education. The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2014 includes a University-wide budget increase of 2.9 percent, with a 3.25 percent increase for students enrolled in programs on the Pittsburgh campus. 

What’s most interesting is that the proposed budget cuts for 2014 include a salary-increase pool of 2.5 percent. Although it’s been well-documented that higher-paid teachers are also higher quality, it must be emphasized that this comes at the expense of students who might see themselves taking out additional loans this year to cover the cost of college. 

In short, the values of the new chancellor matter because they will determine your future experience at Pitt. Students, especially those involved in medical and dental programs, will want to take notice of the values each new candidate places on these programs, since they have suffered the biggest disadvantages under Nordenberg. 

It’s still early, but if you want to survive senior year without a mountain of debt, it’s worth keeping tabs on the chancellor-selection process. 

Write Natalie at natalie.russell8@gmail.com. 

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article stated Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg cut funding toward the University’s Pitt medical school, dental school, Graduate School of Public Health and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. This was inaccurate. The state of Pennsylvania cut the funding. The article has been amended to reflect these changes.