With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic limiting social gatherings, online dissertation defenses have become the only safe way for Ph.D. candidates to complete their doctoral studies. Since the middle of March, Pitt students have been utilizing Zoom to defend their research in front of committees within their academic discipline.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Pitt and civic network Remake Learning a $1 million grant for the Shifting Power initiative, a project to transform how research and development is conducted in education.

Gina Garcia, a faculty member in Pitt’s school of education, will serve on the board of directors of the Association for the Study of Higher Education until 2021.