Time for New Leadership

The following message appeared in the
December 6, 2012 edition of the University Times.

Would you want a university to impact your community the way that the University of Pittsburgh has impacted Oakland? Would you want university administrators to take ownership of 90 buildings in your community, build 8,000 dormi- tory beds, increase enrollment to 27,000 students, persuade state authorities to invoke eminent domain thus evicting you and your neighbors from your homes so that university buildings could be erected, give your residential organizations a paltry $23,000 a year in direct funding, and then have them tell you to start a Neighbor- hood Improvement District to resolve your problems such as binge drinking, litter, and trash?

Here is a concrete example of the domination that the University of Pittsburgh has over the community of Oakland. Prior to the invocation of eminent domain on South Bouquet Street in 1967, there were approximately a dozen students and 210 long-time residents living on that street. Today there are over 700 students and only two long-time residents.

More than ninety-nine percent of Pitt’s faculty lives outside of Oakland. If you are a faculty member at Pitt and cannot answer yes to the above questions about a university’s impact on its community, then why have you remained silent and allowed this domination to continue? Do you not care about the community? Or is there a culture of fear that exists at the University of Pittsburgh that prevents faculty members from speaking out against the policies of your administration?

For the past five years, our grassroots movement has attempted to create a new beginning for the community of Oakland. Our efforts have led us to understand that human dignity is not a priority at the University of Pittsburgh. We have called for the resignation of Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg when we experienced his indif- ference to the pain and suffering of the long-time residents of Oakland. We make that call again today.

Carlino Giampolo

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Update: On June 28, 2013 Chancellor Mark Nordenberg announced that he is retiring on August 1, 2014. It is our hope that the chancellor will move his retirement date forward to the present.