Philosophy, Library Among Pitt’s Highlights in International Rankings
The University of Pittsburgh was one of 22 institutions with at least one subject ranked at No. 1 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018. The University’s philosophy program was recognized with a No. 1 ranking for the third consecutive year. Pitt was also featured in the new ranking for the library and information management subject (No. 9). Academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per paper and h-index — a calculation that reflects most-cited papers and citation totals — are among the factors that may contribute to a specific ranking. To see the University’s entire performance in these rankings, visit the rankings webpage.
David Beck Named Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants
David Beck, an assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Physician Assistant Studies Program, has been recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants for exemplary achievement in service to the profession, the advancement of health care and in dedication to the community. This honor is bestowed upon an elite group of less than one percent of practicing PAs.
Beck studies the application and evaluation of transformative learning in educating health professionals, among other topics.
Personalized Education Grants Awardees Announced
An Uber or Lyft for finding a tutor, a Netflix for research opportunities, civic engagement programs and live broadcast internships in athletics are among the 17 projects awarded grants up to $26,000 through the Office of the Provost’s Personalized Education Grants Program. Personalized education is defined as enhancing learning through tailored engagement in educational activities that reflect each student’s unique identities, experiences, interests, abilities and aspirations. The winners will be recognized at a reception on March 26. For a list of the grantees, visit Pitt’s personalized education website.
Music Chair Deane Root Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Pitt Department of Music Chair Deane Root has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of American Music, which is a member of the Council of Learned Societies and a group of which Root was a founding member. At the society’s international conference in March, Root was lauded for his accomplishments — his deep and wide-ranging contributions to the study of American music; preserving and growing the Foster Hall Collection at the Stephen Foster Memorial and the archives of Pitt’s Center for American Music, of which he is director; and his successful initiative Voices Across Time, in which teachers from across the country come to Pitt’s main campus to learn how to integrate American music into social studies and language arts classes.
Root is an author, editor in chief of Grove Music Online, an educator, a mentor of young scholars and a past president of the Society of American Music. As its representative said when Root received the award, “Deane has exercised consistent leadership ... and has been at the forefront of musical discovery in a broad range of areas.”
Savio Woo Honored as Inaugural Orthopaedic Research Society Fellow
Savio L-Y. Woo, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Bioengineering of the Swanson School of Engineering, was honored by the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) as an Inaugural Fellow at the annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 10, 2018. Woo received this honor in recognition of his outstanding service and leadership, substantial achievement, expert knowledge and significant contributions to the field of musculoskeletal research and the ORS. Woo served as president of the ORS from 1985 to 1986, was a member of the board of directors from 1983 to 1987 and has been chairman or member of various ORS committees.
Employee Injury Rate Falls to Record Low
The University in 2017 posted its lowest-ever employee injury rate of 1.0, calculated in incidents per 100 full-time workers.
Jay Frerotte, director of Pitt’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety, attributed the downward trend to ongoing efforts to enhance the University’s longstanding culture of workplace safety.
National figures have yet to be posted for 2017, but the University’s employee injury rate consistently has been below the national average for colleges and universities since the start of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ current industry classification system in 2003. That year, the Pittsburgh campus rate was 1.8 compared to a national average of 2.7.
By 2016, Pitt’s rate declined to less than 1.2 — a campus low at that time — compared with a national average of 1.9.
SHRS's Walt Stoy Receives Leadership Award
Walt Stoy, director and professor of Pitt’s Undergraduate Program in Emergency Medicine, recently received the James O. Page/JEMS Leadership Award at the EMS Today 2018 conference.
The award is given to individuals or agencies who have exhibited the drive necessary to develop improved emergency medicine systems, resolve important emergency medicine issues and bring about positive changes to the field.
Stoy, who teaches in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and created the bachelor’s degree program in Emergency Medicine for emergency medical services personnel at Pitt in 1988, is internationally renowned for his endeavors in the field and regarded as a national leader in emergency medical services education.
Walt Stoy of SHRS receives leadership award
Walt Stoy, Director and Professor of Pitt’s Undergraduate Program in Emergency Medicine, recently received the James O. Page/JEMS Leadership Award at the EMS Today 2018 conference.
The award is given to individuals or agencies who have exhibited the drive necessary to develop improved emergency medicine systems, resolve important emergency medicine issues and bring about positive changes to the field.
Stoy, who teaches in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and created the bachelor’s degree program in Emergency Medicine for emergency medical services personnel at Pitt in 1988, is internationally renowned for his endeavors in the field and regarded as a national leader in emergency medical services education.
Walt Stoy Receives Leadership Award
Walt Stoy, Director and Professor of Pitt’s Undergraduate Program in Emergency Medicine, recently received the James O. Page/JEMS Leadership Award at the EMS Today 2018 conference.
The award is given to individuals or agencies who have exhibited the drive necessary to develop improved emergency medicine systems, resolve important emergency medicine issues and bring about positive changes to the field.
Stoy, who teaches in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and created the bachelor’s degree program in Emergency Medicine for emergency medical services personnel at Pitt in 1988, is internationally renowned for his endeavors in the field and regarded as a national leader in emergency medical services education.
SHRS' Walt Stoy Receives Leadership Award
Walt Stoy, Director and Professor of Pitt’s Undergraduate Program in Emergency Medicine, recently received the James O. Page/JEMS Leadership Award at the EMS Today 2018 conference.
The award is given to individuals or agencies who have exhibited the drive necessary to develop improved emergency medicine systems, resolve important emergency medicine issues and bring about positive changes to the field.
Stoy, who teaches in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and created the bachelor’s degree program in Emergency Medicine for emergency medical services personnel at Pitt in 1988, is internationally renowned for his endeavors in the field and regarded as a national leader in emergency medical services education.
Margaret McDonald to Receive Association of American Medical Colleges Service Award
Margaret "Maggie" McDonald, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and international programs at the University of Pittsburgh’s Schools of the Health Sciences, will be presented with the Group on Institutional Advancement (GIA) Distinguished Service Award at the upcoming 2018 Association of American Medical Colleges National Professional Development Conference for Institutional Advancement.
The award recognizes McDonald for her significant and longstanding contributions to the GIA, the AAMC and her profession. In McDonald's nomination letters, colleagues recognized her as an accomplished writer and editor, dedicated to the GIA and academic medicine, and generous in sharing best practices to help advance the field.
Pitt Innovation Challenge Launches
The 2018 Pitt Innovation Challenge — or PInCh for short — launches March 12. Created and hosted by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, the challenge is designed to generate innovative solutions to difficult health problems. This year's competition focuses on addressing problems associated with human performance — from helping shift workers and soldiers perform at their best, to giving athletes a boost.
Teams must include at least one University faculty member, but can otherwise be made up of individuals from other educational institutions or non-academic organizations, such as community groups or businesses.
Winning teams will receive an award for direct costs and project management support to help execute a 12-month plan to take the team’s solution one step farther along the path of development. Applications for this year's challenge are due Monday, April 23 at 5 p.m.
Surgeon Named President of American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery
Suzan Obagi, an associate professor of both dermatology and plastic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, was named the 2018 president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery at the the group’s 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting held in February in Las Vegas. Obagi is the director of the UPMC Cosmetic Surgery and Skin Health Center; she is also involved in training residents and physicians from around the world on the latest in cosmetic and laser surgery.
Obagi focuses on skin health restoration, autologous fat augmentation (fat transfer), neuromodulators and soft tissue fillers, chemical peeling, dermabrasion and lasers. Her research interests include ways to improve adipocyte (fat) survival after transplantation, patient safety in skin resurfacing, laser treatment for improving Raynaud’s phenomenon and ultrasound measurement of long-term fat graft survival after transplantation.
Institutional Advancement Staffer, Pitt Alumni Among Philanthropy Up-and-Comers
Raymond M. Davis, a major gifts officer who focuses on the Florida region, has been named to Who’s Next: Philanthropy by local new organization The Incline.
Davis is a graduate of Walsh University and began his work in donor relations there. He joined Pitt’s Institutional Advancement staff in 2015 and is pursuing a master of studies in law degree at Pitt Law.
Who’s Next: Philanthropy recognized 17 individuals under age 40 who are making a difference in philanthropy in Pittsburgh.
Also named to the list were Pitt alumni Zack Block (LAW ’05), executive director of Repair the World: Pittsburgh; Sloane Davidson (GSPIA ’17), founder and CEO of Hello Neighbor; Pam Eichenbaum (A&S ’08), business development associate at Innovation Works; and Ryan Gayman (A&S ’12), accelerator manager at Social Venture Partners Pittsburgh and partner at CitizenCity.
Institutional Advancement Staffer, Pitt Alumni Among Philanthropy Up-and-Comers
Raymond M. Davis, a major gifts officer who focuses on the Florida region, has been named to Who’s Next: Philanthropy by local new organization The Incline.
Davis is a graduate of Walsh University and began his work in donor relations there. He joined Pitt’s Institutional Advancement staff in 2015 and is pursuing a master of studies in law degree at Pitt Law.
Who’s Next: Philanthropy recognized 17 individuals under age 40 who are making a difference in philanthropy in Pittsburgh.
Also named to the list were Pitt alumni Zack Block (LAW ’05), executive director of Repair the World: Pittsburgh; Sloane Davidson (GSPIA ’17), founder and CEO of Hello Neighbor; Pam Eichenbaum (A&S ’08), business development associate at Innovation Works; and Ryan Gayman (A&S ’12), accelerator manager at Social Venture Partners Pittsburgh and partner at CitizenCity.
Russell Clark Wins Prize for Excellence in Advising
Russell Clark, a senior lecturer and undergraduate advisor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been awarded the Ampco-Pittsburgh Prize for Excellence in Advising. Clark is advisor to all undergraduate physics and astronomy major and is responsible for training graduate teaching assistants for lab courses. The Ampco-Pittsburgh Prize, awarded through the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, comes with a one-time $4,000 cash award.
Cynthia Sweet Joins Pitt as Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic Partnerships
Cynthia Sweet has joined the University’s Office of Economic Partnerships as associate vice chancellor for economic partnerships. In this newly created role, she will work closely with Rebecca Bagley, vice chancellor for economic partnerships, to advance University initiatives that aim to foster economic growth on campus and across the region. Among Sweet’s first priorities will be to guide and focus the corporate engagement office rollout strategy.
Sweet most recently was associate vice president of corporate and government relations at West Virginia University and was the founding director of WVU’s Corporate Relations Office. She previously served as senior university business liaison in the Office of Corporate Relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sweet holds a bachelor’s degree in geography with a concentration in economic development and international relations from St. Cloud State University and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning with a specialization in international economic development from UW-Madison.
Russell Clark Wins Prize for Excellence in Advising
Russell Clark, a senior lecturer and undergraduate advisor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been awarded the Ampco-Pittsburgh Prize for Excellence in Advising. Clark is advisor to all undergraduate physics and astronomy major and is responsible for training graduate teaching assistants for lab courses. The Ampco-Pittsburgh Prize, awarded through the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, comes with a one-time $4,000 cash award.
Cynthia Sweet Joins Pitt as Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic Partnerships
Cynthia Sweet has joined the University’s Office of Economic Partnerships as associate vice chancellor for economic partnerships. In this newly created role, she will work closely with Rebecca Bagley, vice chancellor for economic partnerships, to advance University initiatives that aim to foster economic growth on campus and across the region. Among Sweet’s first priorities will be to guide and focus the corporate engagement office rollout strategy.
Sweet most recently was associate vice president of corporate and government relations at West Virginia University and was the founding director of WVU’s Corporate Relations Office. She previously served as senior university business liaison in the Office of Corporate Relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sweet holds a bachelor’s degree in geography with a concentration in economic development and international relations from St. Cloud State University and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning with a specialization in international economic development from UW-Madison.
Cynthia Sweet Joins Pitt as Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic Partnerships
Cynthia Sweet has joined the University’s Office of Economic Partnerships as associate vice chancellor for economic partnerships. In this newly created role, she will work closely with Rebecca Bagley, vice chancellor for economic partnerships, to advance University initiatives that aim to foster economic growth on campus and across the region. Among Sweet’s first priorities will be to guide and focus the corporate engagement office rollout strategy.
Sweet most recently was associate vice president of corporate and government relations at West Virginia University and was the founding director of WVU’s Corporate Relations Office. She previously served as senior university business liaison in the Office of Corporate Relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sweet holds a bachelor’s degree in geography with a concentration in economic development and international relations from St. Cloud State University and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning with a specialization in international economic development from UW-Madison.