University Times

• Kathleen M. DeWalt is on leave from her position as director of Pitt’s Center for Latin American Studies and will return in January. An incorrect title appeared in the Aug. 31 University Times. • Williams College is in Massachusetts. An incorrect state was published in a story on the U.S. News rankings in the […]

Long-time Pitt English professor Richard C. Tobias of Squirrel Hill died Sept.12, 2006, of cancer. He was 81. Tobias, better known as “Tob,” was beginning his 49th year as a Pitt faculty member and was teaching a course on Shakespeare this term. A dedicated teacher, when he was diagnosed with colon cancer and scheduled for […]

According to figures released this week by Pitt’s Office of Research, Health Sciences (OORHS), for fiscal year 2005, Pitt ranked No. 7 nationally in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding among educational institutions and their affiliates. The University also ranked 7th in fiscal year 2004, using the same comparison. Affiliates consist of a group of […]

Every year it’s lost parents, laundry carts & more lines. So as the academic year begins… What’s NEW at PITT? – PART 2 The hustle and bustle that marks the beginning of each academic year is here again. But schools at Pitt have not slept through the summer months, which saw everything from major renovations […]

For the first time in three decades, SAT scores nationally declined sharply. The scores of entering Pitt freshmen declined as well, but more modestly. But the reasons for the decline are in dispute, as is what the decline says about the quality of students. The SAT test was revamped in March 2005 to include a […]

The search for a new director of the University Center for International Studies and senior director of international programs has so far yielded a dozen candidates, but the search committee is continuing to seek more. Members of the UCIS community were invited to offer input to the committee at a Sept. 12 open forum in […]

Are there some employees who are unfairly penalized by the University’s salary policies? Stephen Carr, chair of the Senate budget policies committee (BPC), is calling for a study into the potential “pernicious effects” of Pitt’s compensation policies. “Overall, the administration has done a terrific job regarding compensation over the last 10 years, and for those […]

In light of problems that plague off-campus student housing in Oakland, do the services provided by the University’s Housing Resource Center (HRC) need to be expanded? The Senate community relations committee (CRC) thinks so. The committee endorsed the recommendations presented this week in a white paper prepared by the Oakland Planning and Development Corp. (OPDC). […]

High prices at the gas pumps have caused many a driver to cringe at the thought of filling up, but one Pitt student is cruising without a care in the world: He’s driving for free in a car powered by vegetable oil. This summer, sophomore Pat Lambert converted a diesel-powered 1984 Mercedes 300 SD to […]