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Newsmakers

Issue Date: 
June 20, 2011
The Pittsburgh chapter of the NAACP held its 57th annual Human Rights Dinner on May 5 in the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown. The evening’s theme was “Transforming Education in Pursuit of a Stronger America”; the keynote speaker was John Jackson (left), president and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education. Also shown are Gayle Moss, NAACP Pittsburgh president, and Pitt vice chancellor for public affairs Robert Hill, who introduced Jackson. Pitt’s Office of the Chancellor was a sponsor of the event.The Pittsburgh chapter of the NAACP held its 57th annual Human Rights Dinner on May 5 in the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown. The evening’s theme was “Transforming Education in Pursuit of a Stronger America”; the keynote speaker was John Jackson (left), president and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education. Also shown are Gayle Moss, NAACP Pittsburgh president, and Pitt vice chancellor for public affairs Robert Hill, who introduced Jackson. Pitt’s Office of the Chancellor was a sponsor of the event.
Paul Hawkins (right), a senior consultant with the Western Pennsylvania Diversity Initiative, was welcomed as the June 13 guest speaker for the iSchool Inclusion Institute (i3) by James “Kip” Currier, program director and assistant professor in Pitt’s School of Information Sciences. Supported by a $700,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, i3 aims to encourage and prepare undergraduate students from underrepresented groups to enroll in graduate studies in the information sciences. The i3, which has students spend a total of six weeks on Pitt’s campus, has been designed to work with three separate cohorts of undergrads from around the country, starting this year and in 2012, and 2013, respectively. Each cohort is to attend a four-week summer introductory session at Pitt and then conduct a yearlong team project overseen by a faculty mentor. Finally, the students will return to Pitt the following summer for a two-week presentation and workshop with their faculty mentors, representatives from various information sciences schools, and information science professionals. The first group began June 6 and will wrap up June 30. More information on i3 is available on the institute Web site, www.ischool-inclusion.org.Paul Hawkins (right), a senior consultant with the Western Pennsylvania Diversity Initiative, was welcomed as the June 13 guest speaker for the iSchool Inclusion Institute (i3) by James “Kip” Currier, program director and assistant professor in Pitt’s School of Information Sciences. Supported by a $700,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, i3 aims to encourage and prepare undergraduate students from underrepresented groups to enroll in graduate studies in the information sciences. The i3, which has students spend a total of six weeks on Pitt’s campus, has been designed to work with three separate cohorts of undergrads from around the country, starting this year and in 2012, and 2013, respectively. Each cohort is to attend a four-week summer introductory session at Pitt and then conduct a yearlong team project overseen by a faculty mentor. Finally, the students will return to Pitt the following summer for a two-week presentation and workshop with their faculty mentors, representatives from various information sciences schools, and information science professionals. The first group began June 6 and will wrap up June 30. More information on i3 is available on the institute Web site, www.ischool-inclusion.org.
The New Pittsburgh Courier’s annual FAB 40 reception—which recognizes 40 African Americans under age 40 for contributions to their professions and their communities—was held April 29 in the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown. Among the honorees were a number of Pitt alumni and faculty. Front row, from left: Allyce Pinchback (A&S ’09), education program manager for the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh; Kezia Taylor (LAW ’06), an attorney with Pepper Hamilton; Melissa Wade (A&S ’96), creative services producer for KDKA-TV; Marisa Bartley (A&S ’05), branch manager with Citizens Financial Group; and Bethany Miller (LAW ’08), a lawyer with Tucker Arensberg. Back row, from left: Jessica Brooke Ruffin (A&S ’06), community impact director for Amachi Pittsburgh; Nicole Manns, vice president and manager of affirmative action compliance for BNY Mellon; Oronde Sharif (SOC WK ’97G, A&S ’95), Pitt lecturer and an advisor in Pitt’s Department of Africana Studies; Latika Davis-Jones (SOC WK ’07G, GSPH ’07), an administrator with Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services and an adjunct professor in Pitt’s School of Social Work; and Yolanda Covington-Ward, Pitt assistant professor of Africana Studies. The New Pittsburgh Courier’s annual FAB 40 reception—which recognizes 40 African Americans under age 40 for contributions to their professions and their communities—was held April 29 in the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown. Among the honorees were a number of Pitt alumni and faculty. Front row, from left: Allyce Pinchback (A&S ’09), education program manager for the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh; Kezia Taylor (LAW ’06), an attorney with Pepper Hamilton; Melissa Wade (A&S ’96), creative services producer for KDKA-TV; Marisa Bartley (A&S ’05), branch manager with Citizens Financial Group; and Bethany Miller (LAW ’08), a lawyer with Tucker Arensberg. Back row, from left: Jessica Brooke Ruffin (A&S ’06), community impact director for Amachi Pittsburgh; Nicole Manns, vice president and manager of affirmative action compliance for BNY Mellon; Oronde Sharif (SOC WK ’97G, A&S ’95), Pitt lecturer and an advisor in Pitt’s Department of Africana Studies; Latika Davis-Jones (SOC WK ’07G, GSPH ’07), an administrator with Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services and an adjunct professor in Pitt’s School of Social Work; and Yolanda Covington-Ward, Pitt assistant professor of Africana Studies.
Pitt’s African Heritage Nationality Room received a visit from a West African tribe’s royal family, who examined one of the room’s treasures, a former Yoruba king’s exquisitely beaded tunic. Oba Olusanya Adegboyega Dosunmu (center), the 13th Oluwu of Nigeria’s Owu Kingdom; his son (left), Pitt ethnomusicology PhD alumnus Oyebade Dosunmu (A&S ‘10G, ‘05G); and the Oluwu’s wife, Olatubosun Abiodun Dosunmu, (right) visited the Nationality Rooms Programs’ office on May 17. The ethnic people of Owu are part of West Africa’s Yoruba kingdom, which extends beyond the boundaries of Nigeria. Pitt’s African Heritage Nationality Room received a visit from a West African tribe’s royal family, who examined one of the room’s treasures, a former Yoruba king’s exquisitely beaded tunic. Oba Olusanya Adegboyega Dosunmu (center), the 13th Oluwu of Nigeria’s Owu Kingdom; his son (left), Pitt ethnomusicology PhD alumnus Oyebade Dosunmu (A&S ‘10G, ‘05G); and the Oluwu’s wife, Olatubosun Abiodun Dosunmu, (right) visited the Nationality Rooms Programs’ office on May 17. The ethnic people of Owu are part of West Africa’s Yoruba kingdom, which extends beyond the boundaries of Nigeria.