Faculty & Staff October Update

On this page, you will find the October 31, 2025 communication from President Dr. Lisa Lambert.
Faculty & Staff October Update
By Lisa Lambert / 31 October 2025
Hi everyone,
 
I want to begin by saying how honored I am to have the opportunity to serve as the president of Chatham. We have a great history, and I know even greater things are ahead of us.  However, we wouldn’t be here without the contributions of so many dedicated faculty and staff; thank you.
 
The PCHE Presidents are meeting with mayoral candidate Corey O'Connor in two weeks to discuss issues relevant to higher education in Pittsburgh. I also meet regularly with leaders from CIC, NACU, and AICUP to discuss ways to advocate for higher education issues, such as financial aid, with state and local governments.  We're continuing to explore fundraising for scholarships, the Armory, and other initiatives, as well as the sale of non-essential residential properties. Interest in the Eastside property remains high, and we hope to have a transaction concluded by the end of this fiscal year.
 
Reminder: We have a Community Update scheduled for November 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Eddy Theatre.

Board of Trustees Meeting

The Chatham Board of Trustees meets three times a year (June, October, February). The fall meeting took place on October 6, right after Reunion/Homecoming weekend. Student government representatives met with the Trustees for breakfast before the meeting, and David Rossbach and Rob Lettan from the University Committee attended lunch, presenting an update on the plans for the faculty senate during the afternoon session.
 
We’ll cover more details on the meeting and the budget at the upcoming Employee Update, but briefly, the final Fiscal Year 2025 numbers are finished, and a budget has been presented for Fiscal Year 2026. I look forward to sharing numbers and details at the update.
 
Thank you, once again, to the Office of Finance and Administration for their ongoing efforts to improve our bottom line, despite the challenges of working with a new auditing firm (CLA) and implementing Workday. The audit results were positive and will be posted online as soon as we receive the final copy from our auditors.

Homecoming, Family Weekend, and Reunion Events

Please thank all the folks in Student Affairs, Advancement, and Athletics for their hard work in making these events memorable for the Chatham community!

Middle States - This is Our Accreditation Year!

The Visiting Team chair, Dr. Elliot Hirshman of Stevenson University in Maryland, visited on Friday, October 24, and shared valuable feedback with the Middle States committee members, leadership team, and Board members. The Working Groups are working on the next step of revisions and updates to prepare the final version for the addition of photos and formatting by the end of December. The complete Accreditation Team visit will take place from March 8 to 11, 2026.

Campus Community

I want to welcome again our Interim VP of Enrollment Management, Brandy Gershon. While we will soon begin the search process, I appreciate Brandy’s willingness to step into this essential role so quickly.
  • Welcome to these new members (full-time) of the Chatham Community since last month:
  • Eric Brown, Shuttle Driver
  • Jeffrey Fillia, Police Officer
  • Terri Barger, Associate Director of Financial Aid
  • Carolyn Frischer, Assistant Director of Graduate Admission
  • Elizabeth Igo, Program Manager, Falk School
  • Morgan Soulia, Head Swimming and Diving Coach
  • Jaymmie Mackowiak, Financial Aid Coordinator  

Workday (and IT)

Planning for Workday Student is continuing. As a reminder, for support of Workday Platform, you can find many helpful resources here: https://services.chatham.edu/TDClient/78/Portal/KB/?CategoryID=4633. 

Facilities Updates

Emails about the new Facilities Management Rounding Program and the new Work Order system were sent out on October 28 and 29. More information on the Work Order System can be found here: https://my.chatham.edu/departments/page.cfm?PageID=653&DeptID=17.
 
Demolition has begun on the new Health and Human Performance Center and Athletic Annex space at Eastside. Additional information can be found here: https://gochathamcougars.com/documents/2025/10/9/Eastside-Expansion-Highlights.pdf.
 

The Pulse@ChathamU

Please remember to read and submit your accomplishments and ideas for stories to the Pulse- we all want to hear about the great things you are doing! Here’s the link to submit your news: https://www.pulse.chatham.edu/contact 
 

Latest Federal Changes and the Impact on Chatham

Our Strategic Response Team continues to monitor federal actions that could impact the Chatham community. An email update from the team went out on October 31, and it will also be posted on this page:  https://my.chatham.edu/departments/view.cfm?DeptID=106&Name=Federal-Action%20Updates 
 

Upcoming Dates

(Also see our Chatham Events page: https://chatham.edu/events/)  
 
Remember, this newsletter will be available on the new “From the President” page on chatham.edu (so you don’t have to search through your emails!) The next newsletter will be a combined November/December letter.
 
Thank you, everyone, for everything you do for Chatham.
 
Lisa