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November 10, 2011

A&S renamed Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

PrintIt’s official: The School of Arts and Sciences has been renamed the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

Pitt’s Board of Trustees approved the name change Oct. 28 to honor the father of the late William S. Dietrich II, the Pitt alumnus, trustee and former board chair who in September announced his intention to donate a $125 million trust fund to support the University. The donation is the largest individual gift in Pitt’s history and one of the 10 largest gifts made by an individual to a public university in the United States.

In introducing a resolution at the trustees meeting to rename the school, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg said that the new name was consistent with the wishes of Dietrich, who died Oct. 6 at age 73 after an extended illness.

Nordenberg said that two permanent plaques honoring Dietrich will be unveiled soon in the Cathedral of Learning: One on the 9th floor outside the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences dean’s office, and the other on the 1st floor.

In other trustees business:

• The board elected two emeritus trustees: George A. Davidson Jr., retired chair of energy producer and distributor Dominion Resources, and David B. Fawcett Jr., senior partner in the Pittsburgh-based law firm Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote.

• At the recommendation of the property and facilities committee, trustees voted to increase the limits of the executive vice chancellor’s authority to approve capital projects. (See Oct. 13 University Times.)

Since 1995, the property and facilities committee bylaws had stipulated that the administration could approve University construction projects costing less than $1 million and property transactions costing less than $500,000. At the Oct. 28 meeting, the board approved a resolution doubling those amounts to $2 million and $1 million, respectively. More expensive projects must be approved by the committee.

• Trustees, at the recommendation of the budget committee, approved an additional $8.7 million in capital budget funding for four previously approved construction projects. (See Oct. 27 University Times.)

• The next meeting of the full board is scheduled for Feb. 24. Board chair Stephen R. Tritch said that date will mark the beginning of a year-long celebration of the 225th anniversary of Pitt’s founding.

—Peter Hart

Filed under: Feature,Volume 44 Issue 6

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