University Times

Pitt has received a $2 million commitment to establish the James J. and Noel W. Browne Chair in the School of Social Work. The chair is the first externally funded chair solely dedicated to the social work school.

A 1973 school alumnus, James Browne, who is a principal of Allegheny Financial Group and Allegheny Investments, an investment advisory and financial planning firm he co-founded in 1976, said he and his wife Noel Browne, a 1974 alumna of the school,  hope the chair will give the School of Social Work an edge for attracting and influencing the best and brightest students.

In addition, the Brownes have funded the Browne leadership program, new this year in the School of Social Work. It is a cross-disciplinary program consisting of introductory coursework followed by social-problem analysis and skill-building and culminating with a six-to-eight-week experiential summer program.

The Browne Chair brings to 90 the number of endowed chair positions that have been created as part of Pitt’s capital campaign.