Awards & More

Pitt Magazine, the University’s flagship publication, won four Platinum awards, the highest level possible, in a competition sponsored by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, or MarCom. The MarCom Awards annually recognize outstanding creative achievements by marketing and communication professionals internationally. More than 6,000 entries were submitted this year, and Pitt Magazine was a Platinum winner in each of the following categories: Writing/Magazines, Design/Magazines, Magazine Produced by an Educational Institution, and Writing/News Article for a feature story in the Summer 2012 issue, “Inside Afghanistan,” by Cara Masset, formerly a Pitt Magazine senior editor and now director of University news and executive editor of the Pitt Chronicle. Cindy Gill is the magazine’s editor in chief, Gary Kohr-Cravener is its art director, and Ervin Dyer is its senior editor.

***

The University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Public Affairs won four awards for writing and Web site design during the 33rd Annual International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Golden Triangle Awards Dinner held Sept. 27 Downtown.

A speech delivered by Pitt Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Robert Hill, “The Intractable Career of James Crow III,” received an Award of Honor in the Writing/Speech or Script Category. The speech was written by Hill and Diane Hernon Chavis, Pitt assistant vice chancellor for executive communications.

And Public Affairs’ University and Marketing Communications division won three Awards of Honor for the design of Web sites for Pitt’s Department of Biological Sciences, the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Theatre Arts.

***

University staff member Mara Kudrick, the Pitt Alumni Association’s director of membership, has been elected president of the Council of Alumni Marketing and Membership Professionals. The organization offers professional development, networking, and knowledge-transfer opportunities for alumni relations staff members at institutions of higher education. Kudrick has been part of Pitt’s alumni relations staff since 2004 and an alumna since 2009, when she received a master’s degree in administrative and policy studies from Pitt’s School of Education.

***

Bopaya Bidanda, chair of Pitt’s Department of Industrial Engineering and the Ernest E. Roth Professor in the Swanson School of Engineering, has received the 2012 Global Award for Excellence in Engineering Education from the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies. He was unanimously recommended for the award for developing unique study-abroad courses for engineering students, leading “train the trainer” workshops for Pitt faculty, and emphasizing the teaching of practical skills that students will later employ in the workplace, whether it’s an engineering firm or an academic institution. Bidanda was recognized during the federation’s awards dinner on Oct. 15 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.