Robert Hill conquered his speech impediment when he realized in 10th grade that it was making… Robert Hill conquered his speech impediment when he realized in 10th grade that it was making it hard for him to “sweet-talk the girls.”

Pitt’s vice chancellor for public affairs’ communication skills have now made him the 2006 Renaissance Communicator of the Year.

The Pittsburgh chapter of the Public Relations Society of America presented the award to Hill because he is a “practitioner for excellence in communication,” according to a press release issued by Pitt.

Winning the award left Hill feeling rather surprised.

“I felt like they had made a mistake, and in my acceptance remarks I described the ironies that brought me to that moment,” Hill said in an interview. “As a youngster I had a speech impediment and I had to go to a speech therapist in order to take care of it.”

Members of the staff of the Office of Public Affairs – most specifically William Young, director of University marketing and advertising – nominated Hill for the award.

Hill began working for Pitt in 1999 after being directly recruited by Chancellor Mark Nordenberg.

“The Chancellor had a vision that we could substantially improve the reputation of the University among the audiences and markets that mattered most to the University and he felt that I was the one to lead that effort,” Hill said.