Dean N. John Cooper Will Be Honors Convocation Keynote Speaker

The accomplishments and contributions of Pitt students, faculty, staff, and alumni will be recognized at the University’s 41st annual Honors Convocation, to be held at 3 p.m. Feb. 24 in Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Oakland. All members of the University community are invited.

Chancellor Patrick Gallagher will preside over the event, which will feature keynote speaker N. John Cooper, the Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Dean of Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Cooper will soon step down as dean of the Dietrich School, which under his leadership has strengthened its position as the liberal arts heart of a major public research university. 

One of Cooper’s key achievements has been the development of a strong and diverse faculty and research base. Under Cooper, external sponsorship of research programs grew by 12.6 percent over the past five years. Pitt’s graduate program, which educates the next generation of faculty, has also grown.

During his tenure, the Dietrich School has received gifts that have established 250 endowed funds, including seven chairs; 14 fellowships; 98 scholarships and student resource funds; and 29 awards.

At the close of the University’s capital campaign on June 30, 2013, the Dietrich School had raised $242 million.

Cooper came to Pitt in 1986 as a professor of chemistry, and was department chair from 1989–1994. He became dean of the Dietrich School in 1998.