Pitt has won the Place award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ eighth annual Innovation & Economic Prosperity University Awards.
The “Place” award recognizes a university that is excelling in community, social, and cultural development work. It is one of four awards given out each year.
Pitt was honored for its partnerships in and with the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Homewood, which have become a centerpiece of the University’s place-based community and economic engagement strategy.
“Pitt has taken a multifaceted approach to cultivating talent in Homewood, promoting innovation, and creating an environment fostering economic prosperity through its 20,000 square foot neighborhood-based Community Engagement Center and associated programs at the Manufacturing Assistance Center, BioShelter, and K12 outreach,” the award recognition said. “Building on long-standing involvement in Homewood by various faculty and schools, Pitt made a long-term institutional commitment to partner the breadth of its engagement assets, across all 16 schools and various business units, with community-based partners to pursue impact and opportunities for the residents of Homewood for the next 25 years.”
Examples of work done by Pitt include the School of Social Work partnering with community organizations and the three neighborhood schools to provide holistic support to students and their families; theInstitute for Entrepreneurial Excellence offering a six-month counseling and training program which has graduated 50 entrepreneurs in Homewood and provided consulting services to 21 area businesses since 2017; and the School of Education’s Justice Scholars Program, which has enrolled more than 40 high school students into college bearing classes, qualitative research experiences, and service-learning opportunities all focused on social justice.
To be eligible for an IEP award, an institution must first earn the Innovation and Economic Prosperity University designation from APLU, which recognizes institutional commitment to regional economic development. To earn the IEP designation, universities conduct a rigorous self-study of their economic engagement activities that includes input from external stakeholders.
Sixty-six institutions have been named IEP Universities since the program was launched in 2012.