Newsmakers

ADDRESSING THE State of the Honors College

Edward M. Stricker, a renowned neuroscience scholar who took the helm as dean of the University Honors College (UHC) last July, laid out his vision for the college during his Jan. 11 Inaugural Dean’s Lecture in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. Stricker, who also is Distinguished University Professor of Neuroscience at Pitt, asked the audience to keep in mind three general UHC principles: First, he said, the UHC is not a membership organization—no student is admitted and no student is excluded; second, the UHC’s primary goal is to help the University provide to undergraduates the best quality education imaginable; and, third, the UHC can certify by conferring the Bachelor of Philosophy degree that students have obtained a uniquely outstanding undergraduate education. In closing, Stricker said, “I believe our job at the University is to educate students so they can become excellent citizens of the United States and of the world—not only informed, but responsible and caring, with the intelligence to know what has to be done and the character to get it done honorably and respectfully. In pursuing that goal, I intend to build on the outstanding work that was done by Alec Stewart, the founding dean of the UHC, and to maintain and expand the programs that have worked so well in the past while introducing new programs that will make the UHC even more effective in the future.”

CENTER ON RACE AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Elizabeth Anderson, John Rawls Collegiate Professor of Philosophy and Women’s Studies and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan, delivered a lecture Dec. 9 as part of the Pitt Center on Race and Social Problems’ Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC Fall 2011 Speaker Series. The talk, “The Imperative of Integration: Race and Education,” was held in the School of Social Work’s conference center in the Cathedral of Learning.

2012 STUDENT GOVERNMENT BOARD

Pitt’s 2012 Student Government Board (SGB) was sworn in during a Jan. 5 ceremony in the William Pitt Union’s lower lounge. SGB President James Landreneau (back row, fourth from left) and eight other newly elected board members’ many responsibilities include oversight of the Student Activities Fund, to which all students except those in the College of General Studies contribute. Front row, from left: 2011 SGB elections chair Kari Rosenkaimer and 2012 SGB board members Megan McGrath, Zoe Samudzi, and Julie Hallinan. Back row, from left: Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg; 2012 board members Halim Genus and Alex Murdoch; Landreneau; 2012 board members Olivia Armstrong, Gordon Louderback, and Natalie Rothenberger; and 2011 SGB President Molly Stieber.

HONORING EMPLOYEE LOYALTY

During a Dec. 6 reception in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room, Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg honored staff members who had reached 20, 30, 40, 40-plus, and 50-plus years of employment at Pitt in 2011. Among the honorees was Madalyn Turner-Dickerson (A&S ‘70, EDUC ‘75G ‘97G, GSPIA ’85), assistant University registrar, who began working at Pitt in 1971 and went on to earn master’s degrees in education and in public administration, as well as a doctorate in education. Pictured, from left, are Chancellor Nordenberg, Turner-Dickerson, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Patricia E. Beeson, and University Registrar Ralph Hertel.

GREEKS HELP IN FIGHT AGAINST CANCER

Pitt fraternity and sorority members presented a $500,000 check to the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute during a Dec. 8 reception at the O’Hara Student Center. The Greek organizations pledged in 2005 to raise the funds and held a variety of fundraising events, including the Pitt Dance Marathon, to reach their half-million-dollar goal. “I am so proud of our fraternities and sororities for their dedication to this cause,” said Pitt Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kathy W. Humphrey. “Each one of our organizations contributed to achieving this very ambitious goal.” In the front row, from left, are Pitt students Ashley Hazeltine, Christina Monaco, Kari Rosenkaimer, Megan McGrath, and Alexandra Conlon (wearing teal blouse). In the second row, from left, are Shannon Krohe; Summer Rothrock, the coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Pitt; Lauren Jentleson; Pitt Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Patricia E. Beeson; and Humphrey. In the back row, from left, are Andrew Hansen, Keaton Macut, Nick Reffuge, Christopher Fetter, and Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.