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March 19, 2015

People of the Times

BagleyRebecca Bagley, former president and CEO of NorTech, has been appointed to the new position of vice chancellor for economic partnerships. Bagley will be responsible for coordinating and expanding the University’s efforts in economic development.

Bagley will work with senior leadership to develop a strategic plan for the University in economic development. She also will develop and oversee public and private partnerships that connect and advance the University and have regional and national impact. Another key aspect of her position will be interacting with government, community leadership and the business community on matters pertaining to economic development.

At Cleveland-based NorTech, Bagley led a technology-focused organization that worked to strengthen northeast Ohio’s economic vitality by accelerating the pace of innovation in the region. NorTech used its expertise in emerging industries to foster an innovation environment that provided companies of all sizes, higher education and research institutions, and individuals of diverse backgrounds with new opportunities for collaborations that create jobs, attract capital and have long-term, economic impact.

Prior to joining NorTech in 2009, Bagley was deputy secretary for the Technology Investment Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. She was responsible for the administration of several major state initiatives with a total of $79 million in yearly appropriations and more than $1.7 billion in investments.

She holds a BS from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

She will assume her position here on April 7.

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ermentroutMathematics faculty member Bard Ermentrout has been awarded the Mathematical Neuroscience Prize from Israel Brain Technologies for his work in mathematical biology.

Israel Brain Technologies, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance Israel’s neurotechnology industry by accelerating neuro-innovation and fostering international collaboration, awards the annual prize to researchers in the field of theoretical mathematics in neuroscience. The $100,000 prize honors researchers who have significantly advanced the understanding of the neural mechanisms of perception, behavior and thought through the application of mathematical analysis and theoretical modeling.

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Michael Ringler has been hired as senior director for federal relations in the Office of Community and Governmental Relations.

Ringler, a Pitt alumnus, most recently was a majority clerk and staff director for the U.S. House of Representatives appropriations committee.

Ringler led the review, analysis and production of the annual appropriations bill, providing more than $50 billion for the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation and several related agencies.

As majority clerk and staff director, Ringler worked closely with the committee and subcommittee members as well as executive branch officials and senior U.S. House staff.

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Marc S. Malandro has been appointed founding director of the University’s Innovation Institute. The Innovation Institute is the University’s hub for activities that promote and foster innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and throughout the Pittsburgh region.

Malandro has served as the Innovation Institute’s interim director since its launch in November 2013. The institute sponsors competitions and educational opportunities for students, hosts executives-in-residence, and works toward infusing innovation and entrepreneurship as a foundational element of the University at every level.

Malandro arrived at Pitt in 2004. He directed the University’s Office of Technology Management and Office of Enterprise Development, two entities that now fall under the aegis of the Innovation Institute.

He was named associate vice chancellor for technology management and commercialization in 2006 and worked to oversee the University’s technology commercialization, licensing and startup company activities in that role.

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Carrie Iwema, molecular biology information specialist in the Health Sciences Library System, was elected chair designate of the Medical Library Association’s continuing education committee and was appointed to the joint planning committee for the 2016 Medical Library Association/Canadian Health Library Association/International Clinical Librarian Conference as coordinator of the Lightning Talks.

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ChisholmDenise Chisholm, faculty member in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences’  Department of Occupational Therapy, has been elected as a director to the board of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The board is responsible for the strategic direction and budget of AOTA, and focuses on long-term goals and initiatives that will advance occupational therapy.

Chisholm’s term runs  from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2018.

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Photograph © Beowulf Sheehan +1 917 450 2345 mail@beowulfsheehaJenny Johnson, a lecturer in the Department of English, has been awarded the 2015 Whiting Award for poetry from the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation.

Based on early literary accomplishments and the promise of great work to come, the Whiting award is given annually to 10 writers in the categories of drama, fiction, nonfiction and poetry. It carries a cash prize of $50,000.

Johnson is the author of the forthcoming poetry collection “In Full Velvet.” Her work has been published in The Best American Poetry 2012, the Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, Troubling the Line: Trans & Genderqueer Poetry & Poetics and Best New Poets of 2008.

Johnson teaches in the writing program and is a faculty consultant at the Writing Center.

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Mark T. Gladwin has been named chair of the Department of Medicine. He will remain the director of Pitt’s Heart, Lung, Blood and Vascular Medicine Institute and will continue to see patients in the critical care units at UPMC Presbyterian.

He was named a distinguished professor of medicine in 2014.

The Department of Medicine is home to 650 faculty members and 10 divisions, including pulmonary, allergy and critical care medicine (PACCM), which Gladwin chaired for six years.

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The People of the Times column features recent news on faculty and staff, including awards and other honors, accomplishments and administrative appointments.

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