Newsmakers

NATIVITY: A CHRISTMAS GIFT

The Shona Sharif African Dance and Drum Ensemble, part of Pitt’s Department of Africana Studies, presented its unique musical production of Nativity: A Christmas Gift Dec. 5 and 6 in 4227 Alumni Hall. The show, which also will be presented Dec. 18-20, was inspired by Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity and explores the Christmas season through traditional West African dance and 20th century gospel music. Ticket information is available by calling Dorsey Records at 412-731-6607.

A DIPLOMATIC VISIT

Andreas Kakouris, Ambassador of Cyprus to the United States, visited Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg on Nov. 13. From left, Professor Panos Kypros Chrysanthis, a professor in Pitt’s Department of Computer Science and director of the Advanced Data Management Technologies Laboratory; Alberta Sbragia, the Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg University Chair and director of Pitt’s European Union Center of Excellence/European Studies Center; Kakouris; Nordenberg; Professor Daniela Donno Panayides, a Pitt assistant professor of political science; and Lawrence Feick, director of the University Center for International Studies and a professor of business administration in Pitt’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.

WORLD AIDS DAY

Educating Teens About HIV/AIDS held its Fifth Annual Observance of World AIDS Day and the Red Ribbon Gala on Dec. 1 at The Twentieth Century Club in Oakland. The evening’s speakers included Donald S. Burke, dean of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the UPMC-Jonas Salk Professor of Global Health, and Jeannette E. South-Paul, the Andrew W. Mathieson Professor and Chair in the Pitt School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine. Educating Teens About HIV/AIDS presented its First Annual Red Ribbon Awards—which recognize commitment and contributions to HIV prevention—to Charles R. Rinaldo Jr., chair and professor of infectious diseases and microbiology in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health and professor of pathology in the School of Medicine; Cecile M. Springer (GSPIA ’71), former president of the Westinghouse Foundation and now principal of Springer Associates; and Robert Hill, Pitt’s vice chancellor for public affairs and chair of the Red Ribbon Gala committee. From left are Kezia L. Ellison, Educating Teens About HIV/AIDS founder; Rinaldo; Albertha Graham-Ellison (EDUC ’96G), vice president and project director of Educating Teens About HIV/AIDS; and Hill, who also served as the gala’s master of ceremonies.

GRADUATE, PROFESSIONAL STUDENT RECOGNITION

University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg delivered keynote remarks during the Dec. 3 Graduate and Professional Students Association’s (GPSA) Winter Student Appreciation Reception. GPSA is the governing body for all Pitt graduate and professional students. From left, Marguerite Matthews, GPSA vice president of committees; Daniel Jimenez, GPSA president; and Nordenberg. Matthews and Jimenez are doctoral students in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health.