Gallagher: Endowment report to be released soon
By Jon Moss, News Editor
June 28, 2019
In an interview after Friday’s board of trustees meeting, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said he received a report from Pitt’s Socially Responsible Investment Committee and will release it before students return for the fall semester.
New Pitt spending policy increases support for financial aid
By Janine Faust, Editor-in-chief
June 25, 2019
At a public meeting in Posvar Hall Monday morning, Pitt’s Investment Committee approved a new spending policy that increases the amount of University funding directly supporting financial aid.
Honors College dean to leave for position at University of Arkansas
By Emily Wolfe and Brian Gentry
April 17, 2019
Dr. Brian Primack will step down from his position as dean of Pitt’s Honors College this summer, and will be the dean of the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas beginning July 1.
Grad students to vote on unionization this week
By Neena Hagen, Senior Staff Writer
April 15, 2019
After several years of campaigning, rallying and dealing with University opposition, Pitt’s graduate students will vote on whether or not to form a union this week.
University Senate discusses free speech at annual plenary
By Maureen Hartwell, Staff Writer
March 27, 2019
In a week filled with protests and demonstrations in the wake of Michael Rosfeld’s acquittal, the University Senate convened to hold its annual plenary session focused on “Free Speech in the Modern University.”
Pitt students visit State Capitol
By Neena Hagen, Senior Staff Writer
March 27, 2019
Dozens of Pitt students boarded buses at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday to attend Pitt’s annual Day in Harrisburg.
Chancellor seeks state funding at Harrisburg hearing
By Jon Moss, Contributing Editor
February 27, 2019
Chancellor Patrick Gallagher testified Tuesday in front of the State Senate Appropriations Committee in Harrisburg with other executives from Pennsylvania universities, hoping to increase state funding for higher education for the 2019-20 fiscal year.
Context: February Board of Trustees meeting
By Jon Moss, Contributing Editor
February 22, 2019
Today is the Pitt Board of Trustees' February meeting. Here's what to look for.
Residents, faculty voice qualms with master plan
By Emily Wolfe, Assistant News Editor
February 12, 2019
Pitt will unveil the finalized version of its campus master plan at the end of this week. It includes a plan for more housing, with a net total of 775 new beds and an increase in sustainability efforts.
Pitt faculty see future in union
By Neena Hagen, Senior Staff Writer
February 6, 2019
To most passersby, the fliers, posters and comics adorning the office doors in the narrow corridors on the fourth floor of the Cathedral of Learning blend in with the rest of campus. But for Tyler McAndrew, a visiting lecturer in the English department and prominent faculty union organizer, the posters th...
New gen ed requirements encourage cultural understanding
By Mary Rose O'Donnell, Staff Writer
January 7, 2019
This past semester marked the implementation of a new set of general education requirements for the Dietrich School, the finale of a year-long effort.
Pitt recognizes inaugural Panthers “Forward” class
By Brian Gentry, Contributing Editor
December 10, 2018
The University of Pittsburgh recognized the inaugural class of Panthers Forward, a program which seeks to relieve student debt, on Friday.
Graduate students make their case for unionization
By Janine Faust, Managing Editor
October 9, 2018
After a week of testimony in front of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, the administration could not present all its witnesses in the original time frame allotted to them by the board.
Pitt announces Panthers Forward to ease student debt
By Christian Snyder, Editor-in-Chief
October 3, 2018
While there’s little Pitt can do to procure more funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the University wants to help students deal with their debt. Pitt announced the creation of Panthers Forward yesterday, a new debt easement program that aims to to help fund current students’ education by utilizing the University’s alumni network.
Chancellor releases 30-year Campus Master Plan
By Sarah Shearer, Assistant News Editor
October 1, 2018
Pitt as we know it may look a lot different by the time the next generation of applications rolls in. The University released a Campus Master Plan in a Board of Trustees meeting Friday, including plans for new academic buildings, housing and rerouted transportation methods. The projected master plan has b...
Pitt Progressives protest Maggie and Stella’s
By Christian Snyder and Janine Faust, The Pitt News Staff
September 16, 2018
Pitt Progressives organized a demonstration Friday to protest the absence of a grocery store on campus.
University Senate Council talks state budget, unionization
By Madeline Gavatorta, Staff Writer
September 14, 2018
The 2019-20 state budget could mean significant shifts in how much students pay for college.
Pitt heats up, AC goes down
By Hannah Schneider, Assistant News Editor
September 6, 2018
The University didn’t come to the decision on its own. In an email to faculty and staff, the Facilities Management Division of the University cited Pennsylvania Act 129, which demands a response notification from their electricity supplier as the reason behind cutting back on electric usage.
Mark Nordenberg recalls late vice chancellor’s Pitt Pride
By Grant Burgman, News Editor
August 20, 2018
Jerome “Jerry” Cochran, former Pitt vice chancellor, died Wednesday, Aug. 5, at age 69.
Two men file suit against Pitt, G-Door and Michael Rosfeld
By Grant Burgman, News Editor
July 18, 2018
The complaint alleges that Rosfeld was “not fully qualified to perform his duties as a Pitt Police Officer” and that Rosfeld’s “prior work history and conduct raised red flags and/or concerns pertaining to his ability to work safely with the public in performing his duties as a Pitt Police Officer.”
Pitt Board approves budgets for 2018-19 school year
By Grant Burgman and Christian Snyder
July 16, 2018
Pitt received $4.4 million more from Pennsylvania than in 2017. “The vast majority of in-state students” will not face a tuition increase, according to Chancellor Gallagher. Out-of-state, engineering and graduate students face an increase.
Pitt professors pursue new projects with Pitt Seed grants
By Mario Cattabiani III | For the Pitt News
July 11, 2018
Pitt is investing in change this summer, beginning with projects from professors at the University. The first-ever Pitt Seed Project awarded a total of more than $1 million to 23 programs designed to play an instrumental role in transforming the University. The grants will fund a wide range of faculty...
Board appoints new Provost, inducts five new trustees
By Kieran Mclean | Staff Writer
July 11, 2018
The Pitt Board of Trustees appointed former Boston University Dean of the College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Ann E. Cudd, as Pitt’s new provost Friday, June 29. The board also inducted five new trustees, including President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Penguins David J. Morehouse and...
Board of Trustees unanimously votes to rename Parran Hall
By Christian Snyder and Janine Faust | The Pitt News Staff
July 11, 2018
After a long campaign of ballots, petitions, special committees and a recommendation from the chancellor, the main building for Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health will no longer be named after Thomas Parran Jr., a former Pitt dean who presided over the infamous and racist Tuskegee and Guatema...
Former Pitt wrestling coach Jason Peters sues Pitt
By Grant Burgman | News Editor
June 6, 2018
Former Pitt wrestling coach Jason Peters has filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Pittsburgh for racial discrimination and termination without just cause after he was fired last January. In the lawsuit, Peters claims Pitt violated his employment contract by firing him “without ‘just...
Pitt Vice Chancellor withdraws from UMass Boston chancellor search
By Grant Burgman | News Editor
May 23, 2018
Pitt Senior Vice Chancellor for Engagement Kathy Humphrey withdrew her name from consideration for the chancellor position at the University of Massachusetts Boston Tuesday amid controversy surrounding the nomination and confirmation processes. The other two finalists for the position, Peter Lyons — the vi...
Ellen Moran named as new vice chancellor
By Grant Burgman | News Editor
May 11, 2018
Pitt announced Thursday its communications department has a new leader with Ellen Moran, now vice chancellor for strategic communications and marketing. Moran previously served as President Barack Obama’s communications director from November 2008 to April 2009. Moran, who has been working the position sin...
Gallagher’s senior year: State funding, unions, #MeToo
By Ashwini Sivaganesh
April 23, 2018
At this weekend’s graduation, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher will send off the first group of seniors he also witnessed start their first days of classes at Pitt four years ago. Like most of the graduating class, Gallagher’s fourth year was a busy one. The Pitt News talked with the chancellor l...
Transcript: TPN’s interview with Chancellor Gallagher
By Ashwini Sivaganesh and Christian Snyder / TPN Staff
April 23, 2018
This is a transcript of our entire interview with Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. Click here to read our story with more context. The Pitt News: Looking back on this year, what would you say stands out compared to other years? Patrick Gallagher: I would say it was an amazing year when you think ...
Pennsylvania Senate passes antihazing law
By Sarah Shearer | Contributing Editor
April 20, 2018
The Pennsylvania State Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that would make hazing in fraternities a third-degree felony in cases of serious injury or death, and could allow universities to seize offending Greek organizations’ houses. The law is sponsored by Republican Senate Majority Leade...
Lawmakers propose more transparency at state-related universities
By Christian Snyder and John Hamilton / TPN Staff
April 10, 2018
State representatives unveiled legislation Tuesday that would expand transparency and public access to records at Pennsylvania’s state-related universities. Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln — Pennsylvania’s four state-related universities — are currently exempt from the Right-to-Know Law, whic...
University Senate discusses teaching innovations
By Janine Faust | Assistant News Editor
March 28, 2018
Pitt faculty, staff and administrators gathered Tuesday afternoon to discuss innovation in teaching and making higher education more accessible to all. About 50 Pitt faculty, staff and administrators attended the University Senate’s 2018 plenary meeting — an annual event held to discuss a pressing to...
Communication department undervalues women, dean says after review
By Janine Faust / Assistant News Editor
March 22, 2018
The dean of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences said Thursday that previous investigations and a recent survey of the department of communication have revealed an environment where women remain undervalued. “The investigations revealed failures of systems and failures of character,” Dean ...
Pitt law school announces new dean
By Mackenzie Rodrigues | News Editor
March 20, 2018
The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law named Amy Wildermuth, the associate vice president for faculty and academic affairs at the University of Utah, as the school’s new dean. According to a Tuesday press release, Provost Patricia Beeson said Wildermuth will begin her deanship July 1. She...
Pitt to challenge grad student union election petition
By Janine Faust and John Hamilton / TPN Staff
March 15, 2018
Pitt administrators have told the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board they plan challenge the graduate student petition to hold a union election, organizers said Wednesday. Pitt will look to convince the board that graduate students aren't employees. The labor board in February ruled that graduate students at Penn...
Pitt Board of Trustees endorses Titusville training hub
By Janine Faust | Assistant News Editor
February 26, 2018
Pitt’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution Friday endorsing a strategy to transform the University’s Titusville branch into an educational and training hub that will share space with corporations, community colleges and other outside groups. But prior to the Board’s vote on the resol...
University Senate Council address Parran Hall, Titusville
By Hannah Schneider, Staff Writer
February 21, 2018
The University Senate Council held its second meeting of the spring semester Tuesday afternoon and addressed recently contentious topics such as building names and budget concerns. Chancellor Patrick Gallagher started the meeting by discussing the current controversy about Parran Hall, which houses ...
Pitt announces long-time CFO’s retirement
By John Hamilton | Managing Editor
February 20, 2018
Pitt’s chief financial officer and senior vice chancellor, Arthur Ramicone, will retire in August after a 30-year career at Pitt, the University announced Tuesday. Ramicone, 64, is the second senior vice chancellor who will step down in 2018, following Provost Patricia Beeson’s announcement that she will leave ...
Pitt, UPMC announce $200 million Immune Transplant and Therapy Center
By Janine Faust / Assistant News Editor
February 14, 2018
Jeffrey Romoff, president of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, walked on stage at a century-old abandoned car factory Tuesday afternoon and wondered where some of its necessary facilities were. “This is not quite what I expected,” he said. “I can’t find the lavatories, and I can’...
Student safe after drinking ‘excessive amounts of alcohol’ at Sigma Chi event
By John Hamilton / Managing Editor
January 25, 2018
After a week of sparse details about a Greek life function that left a student hospitalized, Pitt released a statement Thursday with some information about the Sigma Chi alcohol incident. At a Sigma Chi function last Thursday, a student was taken to a hospital by his friends after drinking “excessive amounts of alcohol,” a statement from Pitt spokesperson Joe Miksch said. The student is n...
University Senate avoids union, frat
By Janine Faust and Mackenzie Rodrigues | News Editors
January 25, 2018
While the Pitt community is buzzing about both the recent suspension of Pitt’s Sigma Chi chapter after a student was hospitalized Jan. 19 and the faculty union organizers’ card-signing campaign kickoff Monday, the University Senate Council did not address either subject during its first meeting o...
Pittsburgh among finalists for Amazon’s second headquarters
By John Hamilton / Managing Editor
January 18, 2018
Amazon announced 20 cities Thursday that the company is considering as a location to build its second headquarters — and Pittsburgh is on the list. The online retail giant received more than 200 proposals from cities across the country, narrowing it to 20 cities, which will pose some serious compe...
Gallagher responds to communication department harassment claims
By John Hamilton / Managing Editor
December 20, 2017
Chancellor Patrick Gallagher responded to allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination in Pitt's Department of Communication Wednesday in an email to the Pitt community. The email is a response to a recent Ms. Magazine blog post, written by a former Pitt professor, alleging sexual harassment and d...
Pitt Title IX to investigate harassment allegations from early 2000s
By John Hamilton / Managing Editor
December 16, 2017
Pitt’s Title IX office will open an investigation after a former professor published an article Wednesday alleging harassment and discrimination in the Department of Communication in the early 2000s. Carol Stabile, a professor in Pitt’s Department of Communication from 1994-2005, described her ...
Pitt grad students file for union election
By John Hamilton / Managing Editor
December 15, 2017
Graduate students at Pitt filed for a union election Friday, indicating that at least 30 percent of Pitt grad students have signed union cards. Students delivered union cards to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board in Harrisburg Friday afternoon. An election could take place early next year if Pitt...
Committee to consider sustainable investment
By Madison Hook | Staff Writer
November 30, 2017
Student activist Sarah Grguras says people often ask her what the money Pitt invests in the fossil fuel industry could go toward. Her response? “Literally anything.” “They could invest in the Pittsburgh public schools, or they could invest in us,” the junior environmental science and ...
Grad students rally against GOP tax plan
By Salina Pressimone | Staff Writer
November 30, 2017
Andrew Bellesis faces new decisions about his career prospects as the recently introduced Republican tax bill looms over the potential cost of his next five years at Pitt. “We will defeat this bill,” Bellesis, a first-year biophysics Ph.D. student, said through his megaphone. “And in the lo...
Law student sues Pitt, claiming Title IX complaint was mistreated
By The Pitt News Staff
November 13, 2017
A former Pitt law student has sued the University, claiming Pitt employees mistreated her when they responded to a Title IX complaint she filed. Hannah Rullo filed a lawsuit Oct. 25 in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh against the University of Pittsburgh saying she was subjected to gende...
Provost Patricia Beeson to step down, return to faculty
By Janine Faust / Assistant News Editor
November 7, 2017
Provost Patricia Beeson will step down from her position in fall 2018, Pitt announced Tuesday. The University currently has three deans who will also be stepping down at the same time as Beeson, leaving a multitude of leadership positions to fill by the start of the next academic year. Beeson wi...
Pitt Board of Trustees approves funding for renovations
By Caroline Bourque | Assistant News Editor
November 3, 2017
The University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees approved close to $44 million of renovation projects across campus at a Property and Facilities Committee meeting Friday morning. According to University spokesperson Joe Miksch, the approved renovations will include five projects within five Pitt f...
Governor approves state-related funding
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
October 28, 2017
Governor Tom Wolf signed an appropriation bill passed by the state legislature into law Friday morning — meaning Pitt is officially funded. The signing of the bill — which the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Wednesday by a margin of 181-5 — marks the end of a more than four-month stale...
Pitt procures state funding, ending tuition scare
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
October 27, 2017
Update: Gov. Tom Wolf signed the appropriation bill Friday, officially funding Pitt and the other state-related universities. The Pennsylvania General Assembly has passed an appropriation bill to fund Pitt, warding off the fear of a tuition hike — for now. The bill passed Wednesday by a margi...
Pitt architect plans campus future
By Anna Bongardino | Contributing Editor
October 13, 2017
Any Pitt student who has lived in Nordenberg or Panther Hall — or who has had class in Benedum or Salk Hall — can thank Canard Grigsby for planning and overseeing the execution of the buildings’ designs. Grigsby, the University architect, reviews almost all facilities management projects involving...
Gallagher meets with Gov. Wolf amid Pitt funding uncertainties
By Rachel Glasser and John Hamilton / TPN Staff
October 12, 2017
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf met with Chancellor Patrick Gallagher Thursday morning amid a state budget impasse that's making Pitt's state funding uncertain. Wolf met with Gallagher to "reassure him of his commitment to the state-related universities," Wolf's Press Secretary J.J. Abbott said in an email....
Chancellor: mid-year tuition increases possible
By Rachel Glasser / News Editor
October 12, 2017
A mid-year tuition increase for students is not out of the question if Pennsylvania fails to fund its state-related universities, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said Tuesday. [Latest: Gallagher meets with Gov. Wolf to discuss Pitt's funding] In a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the chancellor expressed his con...
Pitt invites input for master plan
By Madeline Gavatorta / Staff Writer
September 28, 2017
Jim Wehner started his first architectural internship focused on improving Pitt’s campus 25 years ago. Wehner, an architect specializing in institutional facilities and campus design at J-Way Architectural and father of two Pitt students, said this is Pitt’s first actual attempt to renovate ...
Gallagher discusses research and in-state students at trustees meeting
By Rachel Glasser | News Editor
September 27, 2017
Pitt’s board of trustees meeting Wednesday began with an interruption. As Chairperson Eva Tansky Blum began her opening remarks, a protester stood in the William Pitt Union assembly room, shouting, “Shame on Pitt, stop cruel mouse testing.” The individual was immediately escorted out of the r...
Student organizers react to admin’s union oppositon
By Kirsten Wong and John Hamilton / The Pitt News Staff
August 30, 2017
Rachel Coombs was conducting research in a biology lab in late July when she found herself enraged by an email from Pitt Provost Patricia Beeson. Coombs, a Ph.D. student studying biological sciences, read Beeson’s letter outlining the Pitt administration’s opposition to the grad student union eff...
Pitt’s vice chancellor for communications leaves University
By Rachel Glasser and Janine Faust / News Editors
August 28, 2017
Susan Rogers — who was appointed Pitt’s vice chancellor for communications just 18 months ago — is no longer employed by the University of Pittsburgh, a spokesperson confirmed Monday. After this story was first published Monday evening, Joe Miksch — the University’s director of media r...
Q&A: Departing law and engineering deans
By John Hamilton | Editor-in-Chief
August 21, 2017
Two Pitt deans announced their resignations during the summer months, giving the University two positions to fill by the start of the 2018 academic year. Gerald Holder — dean of the Swanson School of Engineering — announced his intent to return to the faculty in May, following two decades in the...
Pitt administration comes out against grad student union
By John Hamilton / Editor-in-Chief
July 28, 2017
Speaking on behalf of the University, Pitt Provost Patricia Beeson came out against a graduate student union Thursday, claiming that a union would not be in the best interests of students. Beeson’s letter is the first direct criticism the administration has levied against the unionization efforts, which formally began in January of 2016. The University is now officially no...
Pitt increases tuition, budget
By Caroline Bourque | The Pitt News Staff
July 17, 2017
Pitt trustees voted Monday to increase in-state tuition by 2.5 percent and out-of-state tuition by three percent, along with an increase to the University’s operating budget. In-state students enrolled in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences will see their tuition increase by $442, while ou...
Trustees elect new members, rename Pennsylvania Hall
By John Hamilton / Editor-in-Chief
July 5, 2017
Pitt’s Board of Trustees elected four new members, approved construction projects and renamed Pennsylvania Hall at their June 30 meeting. Pennsylvania Hall — which has held that name since its construction in 2004 — is now named K. Leroy Irvis Hall to honor K. Leroy Irvis, a Pitt alumnus and ...
Pitt Law dean Carter to step down, leaving Pitt a second dean position to fill
By John Hamilton / Editor-in-Chief
June 30, 2017
The dean of Pitt’s law school, William M. Carter Jr., is stepping down to return to teaching full-time, becoming the second Pitt dean ending their tenure next spring. Carter's decision comes soon after engineering dean Gerald Holder announced in May he will step down and return to the faculty. Carter and Holder will leave their positions ...
Auditor’s concerns with PSU partially apply to Pitt
By Janine Faust / Senior Staff Writer
June 28, 2017
The Pennsylvania auditor general harshly criticized Penn State after a recent audit, raising some concerns that apply to other state-related universities, including Pitt. In his 112-page audit report, Auditor General Eugene Depasquale cited several issues including skyrocketing tuition, a lack of transparency, a decrease in in-state enrollment and an...
Q&A with new UHC dean Brian Primack
By The Pitt News Staff
June 20, 2017
Brian Primack, a Pitt alumnus and professor in the School of Medicine, gained another title earlier this month when Pitt named him to replace Edward Stricker as dean of the University Honors College. In anticipation of the beginning of his tenure, set to start July 1, The Pitt News asked Primack to discuss his pla...
Pitt announces finances, top employee earners
By Henry Glitz | News Editor
June 13, 2017
Pitt’s annual financial disclosure, which it released last month in compliance with the Right to Know Law, revealed a pay structure with University athletics once again at the top. The University, which legally qualifies as a non-profit organization exempt from tax, nevertheless must still file a publi...
Michaels dismissed from Pitt after child pornography possession charges
By John Hamilton / Editor-in-Chief
June 12, 2017
Edward Michaels has been dismissed from Pitt, according to a University spokesperson, after he was charged with possessing child pornography on May 24. Michaels is the former director of Pitt’s counseling center, a position he held since June 2015. Immediately following his arrest, Pitt placed Mi...
Pitt considers closing Titusville campus
By Caroline Bourque | Staff Writer
June 7, 2017
Pitt is considering several options to deal with a lack of steady enrollment at Pitt-Titusville, including shuttering the branch campus, mainly due to a lack of steady enrollment, according to a report released last Thursday. University officials released an analysis listing more problems than possible sol...
University names Brian Primack new UHC dean
By Janine Faust | Staff Writer
June 7, 2017
Pitt announced researcher and medical doctor Brian A. Primack as the new dean of the University Honors College Monday. Primack will succeed Edward Stricker as the third Bernice L. and Morton S. Lerner Chair and dean of the UHC, beginning July 1. Primack’s primary responsibilities as dean will be...
Students react to counseling center director’s arrest
By John Hamilton and Henry Glitz | The Pitt News Staff
May 31, 2017
In the six days following the counseling center director’s arrest, Pitt students responded to the latest controversy at the center, while the University has largely stayed quiet and given little additional information. Allegheny County police arrested Edward Michaels, 67, of Wilkinsburg, last Wedne...
Pitt counseling center director charged with possessing child pornography
By John Hamilton / Editor-in-Chief
May 25, 2017
The director of Pitt’s counseling center — Edward Michaels — was arrested Wednesday on charges of possessing child pornography. Allegheny County police arrested Michaels, 67, of Wilkinsburg, on charges of possessing child pornography and criminal use of a communications facility. According t...
Engineering dean Holder announces resignation
By Henry Glitz | News Editor
May 11, 2017
Dean of Engineering Gerald Holder announced yesterday he will step down and return to the faculty after 21 years of leading the Swanson School of Engineering. Holder’s departure from the position will take effect before the beginning of the Fall semester in 2018. Pitt plans to begin the search ...
Paul Cohen named first dean of School of Computing and Information
By Caroline Bourque | Senior Staff Writer
May 10, 2017
Paul R. Cohen will become the founding dean of Pitt’s new School of Computing and Information — the first new school established at Pitt since 1995 — which will enroll its first students in the fall. The School of Computing and Information will provide courses centered around the idea of integ...
Pitt names Kathleen Blee new Dietrich School dean
By Henry Glitz | News Editor
May 1, 2017
Concluding a search process begun last summer, Pitt announced the hiring of a new dean of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences Monday. Kathleen Blee is set to start as dean on August 15. Blee is currently associate dean for the Dietrich School and has been a professor of sociology at the University...
Pitt hires Rob A. Rutenbar as first senior vice chancellor for research
By Ashwini Sivaganesh and John Hamilton / The Pitt News Staff
April 11, 2017
The University of Pittsburgh hired The University of Pittsburgh hired Rob A. Rutenbar Monday as the first senior vice chancellor for research, a new position that will oversee and integrate research at Pitt. The search for the job began in October 2016, when Pitt held four town halls to get input on hiring for...
Paid parental leave extended to Pitt staff
By John Hamilton / Assistant News Editor
March 30, 2017
The University announced the first paid parental leave program for staff on Wednesday, providing four consecutive weeks of paid leave to new mothers and fathers. The new benefit, which is available to benefits-eligible staff members, allows parents to take four weeks of paid leave during the 12 months f...
Alma mater honors Bonner with leadership award
By John Hamilton / Assistant News Editor
March 29, 2017
Washington & Jefferson College honored 1994 grad Kenyon Bonner Tuesday night for the leadership he’s displayed in his 13 years at Pitt. Bonner, Pitt’s vice provost and dean of students, received the Maurice Cleveland Waltersdorf Award, given to W&J students and alumni who have the demonstrated ...
Pitt eliminates CGS associate dean position
By Ashwini Sivaganesh and Amanda Reed / The Pitt News Staff
March 15, 2017
Without a public announcement about upcoming organizational changes to the College of General Studies, former associate dean Cristina Ruggiero left the position in February. Pitt spokesperson Joe Miksch said her departure was the result of “pending organizational changes” that have eliminated th...
Fossil Free Pitt Coalition urges Board of Trustees to divest
By Grant Burgman / Staff Writer
February 27, 2017
A February day when the temperature reached the high 70s in Pittsburgh seemed like the perfect time to talk about climate change — and aligned with the Fossil Free Pitt Coalition’s pre-planned attendance at a public Board of Trustees meeting. The 38-person board — who, according to their website, “ensu...
Pittsburghers demand Toomey town hall meeting
By John Hamilton / Contributing Editor
February 22, 2017
A cardboard cutout of Sen. Pat Toomey stood in place of the actual politician at a makeshift town hall in Station Square Tuesday. Frustrated with Toomey’s decision to not hold a town hall over congressional recess, about 250 Pittsburghers held their own town hall as the latest installment of Tu...
Pitt revises faculty, student relationship policy
By Lauren Rosenblatt / Managing Editor
February 17, 2017
Pitt’s Faculty Assembly approved a revision to its consensual relationship policy Tuesday that now bans students from engaging in relationships with faculty or staff who are or could be in a position of supervision over them. The assembly voted to include staff members in the policy — which includ...
Pitt’s plans for Community Engagements Centers still vague
By Max Datner / For The Pitt News
January 27, 2017
Although Pitt announced plans to create community engagement centers seven months ago, there have been sparse details since about when or how the program will take shape. In a June 2016 University press release, Pitt cited a need to establish partnerships with communities surrounding the University....
Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences updates general education requirements
By Amanda Reed / Assistant News Editor
January 20, 2017
For the first time in 35 years, general education requirements are changing in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. The Undergraduate Council, composed of 12 faculty members and five undergraduate students, recently announced it approved changes for the general education requirements ...
Pitt names founding director for Cyber Institute
By Ashwini Sivaganesh and Alexa Bakalarski / News Editors
January 12, 2017
Pitt announced the director of the new Pitt Cyber Institute, which will focus on addressing and teaching issues of cyber security, Wednesday morning. The university appointed David J. Hickton as the head of the institute, a new interdisciplinary teaching and research facility that will work with t...
Pitt students, faculty talk diversity with Dean Bonner
By Janine Faust / Staff Writer
January 11, 2017
Pitt students and faculty used markers, large posters and brainpower Tuesday evening to address diversity and inclusion at Pitt. In the second installment of Pitt’s Dialogue with the Dean, a University-sponsored conversation as part of Pitt’s Year of Diversity, Vice Provost and Dean of Studen...
School of Education announces new dean
By Alexa Bakalarski and Amanda Reed / News Editors
January 11, 2017
After the former dean stepped down in the summer, Pitt has named a new School of Education dean — one who has had a focus on diversity and inclusion in her past roles. Valerie Kinloch, who will begin serving as Pitt’s School of Education dean July 1, 2017, is currently the associate dean of div...
Pitt planning for budget cuts for 2017-18 fiscal year
By Amanda Reed / Assistant News Editor
January 6, 2017
Even with a $3.6 billion endowment, possible budget changes from Harrisburg could mean Pitt will have to find other funding sources in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. The University uses funds from the state for teaching instruction, financial aid, student services like the wellness center and the Stu...
Board of Trustees invest in campus buildings
By Ashwini Sivaganesh / News Editor
January 6, 2017
Pitt’s Board of Trustees plans to close the deal on a $7 million two-story building in Oakland in the coming weeks but isn’t yet sure what the space will be used for. The property and facilities committee of the Board can approve construction projects of more than $2 million and real estate purchase...
University Honors College announces internal search for next dean
By Ashwini Sivaganesh | News Editor
December 27, 2016
The University Honors College officially created a search committee last week, five months after Dean Edward Stricker announced that he would be stepping down before the fall of 2017. Senior Director of International Programs Ariel Armony will head the dean search committee, made up of 10 Pitt student and facu...
Pitt faculty petitions for sanctuary campus
By Lauren Rosenblatt, Alexa Bakalarski, Amanda Reed / The Pitt News Staff
December 8, 2016
With a new petition, Pitt professors are asking the administration to proactively protect undocumented students. Assistant English professor Peter Campbell and English professor Sarah Leavens spearheaded the effort and worked collaboratively with seven other professors on the petition, which urges Pitt ...
Pitt hires psychiatrist
By Lauren Rosenblatt / News Editor
December 7, 2016
Even as students complained that Pitt hadn’t hired replacement psychiatrists to staff its Counseling Center, it appears administrators had actually — and quietly — filled one of the open positions. In an email sent Dec. 6, University spokesperson Shawn Ahearn said that Dr. Jennifer Prins, ...
At Cathedral, Fossil Free Pitt Coalition calls for divestment
By Janine Faust / Staff Writer
December 6, 2016
A thin, cardboard oil pipeline roughly 200 feet long stretched along the slate floor of the Cathedral Commons for about 20 minutes on Monday morning. Students had constructed the “pipeline” out of recycled cardboard tubes painted black and stretched it from the main entrance of the Commons to the b...
Despite concerns, Title IX Coordinator says sexual assault services will continue under Trump
By Nikita Karulkar / Staff Writer
December 5, 2016
When Vice President Joe Biden visited Pitt in April, encouraging students to fight rape culture on campus, he was speaking during a year that seemed promising for the future of sexual assault services at colleges nationwide. Pitt had opened the Office of Diversity and Inclusion only a few months pri...
No time to talk: what’s going on with Pitt’s Counseling Center?
By Rachel Glasser and Tristan Dietrick
November 28, 2016
Kelchis Radziewicz had struggled with underlying anxiety before, but after losing a close friend to suicide just before her first year at Pitt, she realized she couldn’t cope with the grief on her own. “It was becoming unmanageable,” said Radziewicz, a junior English literature and Engl...
Students react to violence at Thursday protest
By Amina Doghri / Staff Writer
November 22, 2016
After a week of tension — both in person and online — between protesters and the University, students once again gathered on Towers patio to express their frustration with police and Pitt. This time, Dean Kenyon Bonner — who has written two public letters in response to the violence that er...
Students, administration clash after Thursday night protest
By Lauren Rosenblatt / News Editor
November 21, 2016
After several student-led protests since Donald Trump’s election, one march against student debt ended with two arrests, three people in handcuffs and, according to protesters, fear and concern among students. The protests last week also drew sharp rebuke from Pitt’s administration on Friday, a ...
Faculty votes on amendments to general education requirements
By Emily Brindley / Assistant News Editor
November 18, 2016
Randall Halle wants every Pitt student to learn a foreign language well enough to comfortably navigate daily life in another country. Halle, the Klaus W. Jonas professor of German film and cultural studies, said this level of proficiency is the goal of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’...
Dean Bonner calls for civility during election season
By Emily Brindley / Assistant News Editor
November 2, 2016
Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kenyon Bonner wrote a letter to Pitt students reminding them to be civil this week, despite clashes between pro- and anti-Trump students on campus. The first clash between political opponents on campus came last week, on Oct. 26, when the student group Youth for Trum...
New policy allows student athletes register early for classes
By Emily Brindley and Lauren Rosenblatt / The Pitt News Staff
October 31, 2016
Student-athletes at Pitt, including football and basketball players, have been able to register for spring semester classes for three days now, while all other students are only beginning to register today. This is because Pitt’s senior administrators and athletic department approved a change this s...