University Times

Legislation to ensure students’ rights to academic freedom is unnecessary, a Pennsylvania House of Representatives special committee has concluded following nine days of hearings across the state over the past year. The House select committee on academic freedom’s report, adopted by a unanimous vote on Nov. 21, concluded that bias is rare. However, it also […]

A report from U.S. News & World Report and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has placed UPMC Health Plan on the “honor roll” of the top 10 health plans in the country. The report, “America’s Best Health Plans,” also shows that the health plan is the highest ranked plan in Pennsylvania for the […]

Pitt continues to enjoy healthy financial status, according to a senior administrator who summarized the University’s annual audit report at last week’s meeting of the Senate budget policies committee (BPC). “Our consolidated financial statements show that the University began fiscal year 2006 in a very solid financial position and ended the fiscal year in the […]

UPMC Senior Living has teamed up with Family Hospice and Palliative Care to help end-of-life patients make better, informed decisions. The circle of life program, recently introduced in the UPMC Senior Living skilled nursing facilities, combines traditional care along with specialized expertise of the Family Hospice and Palliative Care staff. Pittsburgh has one of the […]

Thanks to two University Honors College students, Pitt has become the only public university in the nation to boast back-to-back Rhodes Scholars. Daniel Armanios, a mechanical engineering and political science major who minors in economics, is among the 2007 Rhodes awardees. He joins Pitt’s 2006 Rhodes Scholar Justin Chalker, who majored in chemistry and history […]

A new system that empowers patients and their families at UPMC Shadyside to call for help from rapid response teams is reducing the likelihood of medical errors and maximizing patient safety, according to an article in the November issue of the American Journal of Nursing. Many hospitals, including UPMC Shadyside, have been responding to in-hospital […]

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg ranks 27th among leaders of public universities nationally in salary and benefits, according to a survey report on executive compensation conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Nordenberg is among the 42 public institution heads nationally who earn at least $500,000, according to the Chronicle survey. The Chronicle compiled data, published […]

Pitt has received a $1 million gift from alumnus David A. Tepper (Arts and Sciences ’78) to create three newly endowed funds that will provide scholarship and programmatic support to Pitt students and faculty. Tepper’s gift will create: • The David A. Tepper Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship Fund to support outstanding Pitt students in need; • […]

The property and facilities committee of Pitt’s Board of Trustees last week approved more than $18 million in renovation projects at the Pittsburgh campus, $1.65 million for a new lecture hall at the Greensburg campus and several long-term leases. The committee is authorized to oversee property transactions in excess of $500,000 and to approve University […]

Those in public health are well aware that the United States has widespread health disparities and inequitable and inadequate health insurance coverage and that money is being poured into treatment instead of prevention. But the question remains: Is anyone else paying attention? “Recently, I was asked to talk about the American system of public health […]