University Times

"Pittsburgh in a Global Economy" will be the theme of this year's Founders Day celebration set for today, Feb. 29, at 1:30 p.m. in the Ballroom of the William Pitt Union. Interim Chancellor Mark Nordenberg will give the introductory remarks, followed by Provost James Maher, who will moderate a series of five presentations on Pittsburgh […]

The committee searching for a new, permanent Pitt chancellor hopes to narrow its list of candidates to 14-to-16 people by March 9, committee chairperson James Roddey told his fellow trustees at last week's board meeting. Currently, 22 candidates are still formally in the running, although the committee will continue to seek out additional high-quality candidates […]

Pitt's chemistry department has received two grants totaling $20,337 in support of its chemistry van program. Part of the department's community outreach effort, the chemistry vans are mobile chemical laboratories and are used to perform experiments for school children in an effort to interest and excite them about science. A $15,000 grant from the ARCO […]

Faced by criticism from City Council, Mayor Tom Murphy has decided to delay the test closing of Bigelow Boulevard between the Cathedral of Learning and the William Pitt Union. The University has sought to close that block of Bigelow Boulevard for years, citing the safety threat to students crossing the busy street. A 60-day test […]

Pitt's Center for Latin American Studies has received five grants and endowments to support its archaeology database, field research, graduate education and student programs. The largest of the grants is a $2.5 million commitment from The Howard Heinz Endowment to create a permanent fund for graduate education. Of the grant total, $2 million will be […]

The University plans to raise its academic standards for undergraduates — including increasing minimum Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores required of incoming freshmen — with a goal of making Pitt's undergraduate programs competitive with those at the nation's best public universities. That was one of six goals that Pitt's Board of Trustees approved unanimously at […]

John E. Prescott of the Katz Graduate School of Business doesn't plan to meet with the students taking his "Competitive Intelligence" course this term. And he doesn't want them calling him on the telephone. He has even asked that they avoid talking about the course among themselves. And that's exactly how the University administration wants […]

Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education and Pittsburgh's mayor are automatically ex-officio members of the Pitt Board of Trustees by virtue of their offices. Last week's board meeting may have been the first ever attended by both officials, according to Pitt's Office of the Secretary of the Board of Trustees. Mayor Tom Murphy opened the meeting with […]

Thanks to a new computer-assisted testing system (CATS), students who study through the University External Studies Program will be able to take exams via computers at off-campus sites. Through CATS, students obtain their test scores on-screen immediately upon completing exams. They also have the option of receiving on-screen feedback from faculty. That's in contrast to […]

The Board of Trustees voted Feb. 22 to replace the School of Pharmacy's five-year undergraduate degree with a six-year doctor of pharmacy degree. The school will begin admitting students to the PharmD. program this fall, which is also when it will close admissions to its current bachelor of science program. Nearly two-thirds of the 75 […]