By SHANNON O. WELLS
Chancellor Joan Gabel took part in her first student convocation at Pitt by sharing a warm welcome along with motivational challenges to the incoming Class of 2027 the morning of Aug. 23.
“I am so glad to be with you all today. I am so excited to be here,” she said to the throng of blue T-shirt wearing first-year students at the Petersen Events Center.
Gabel, Pitt’s 19th chancellor, was among several speakers at the event marking the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year, including interim Provost Joe McCarthy, Student Government Board President Ryan Young, and Senate Council President Robin Kear.
With 5,100 new undergraduate students, including 4,500 first-year and 600 transfer students from what Gabel called a record-breaking pool of 61,000 applications, the class is a “highly select and highly accomplished group,” she noted, as well as “one of the most diverse groups of students (that’s) ever entered (Pitt) in every way we measure that.” That includes a large number of students who are the first in their family to attend college.
“As a class, you represent nearly every corner of the great state of Pennsylvania,” she said, with 54 percent of the first-year class and nearly 70 percent of transfer students from the commonwealth, with the remainder coming from “far and wide” — 47 states and territories and 47 foreign countries. “Right now, I’m speaking to one of the largest number of international students ever to enter Pitt’s first-year class,” Gabel said.
“You are all welcome. You are all Panthers, but you also represent the communities that nurtured you: the teachers, the theologians, the friends who challenged you, the families that raised you. And I assure you, they are all very proud of you today, as are all of us,” Gabel said.
“I’m a first-year, too. I’m in your shoes,” she said. “We’re going to take this journey together. I might not be a freshman, but I’m starting out in the same way that all of you are.”
Gabel has been taking in as much as possible during her first Welcome Week at Pitt. So far, she’s been able to meet and greet students and their families as they move into residence halls. She also spent time at the Frederick Honors College’s picnic and the Graduate and Professional Student orientation and picnic.
At convocation, the chancellor likened the students’ discovery of Pitt to her own, speaking of her first campus visit. “I liked what I saw. I was impressed. And what I found, even though there were thousands of you, just like what you see when you look around this room today, there was a warm sense of community. It felt like I found a small town and a large, vibrant city all in the same place. … For me already, it’s a place to call home. It’s also a place where we will all come together to contribute and to learn.”
At Pitt, she continued, students are preparing to pursue “scores of different majors and minors,” but “whatever studies you pursue, whatever unexpected passions you discover about yourself, at Pitt, you’ll develop an extended view of who you are and what you’re capable of,” she said. “You’re going to push yourself, and our expectations of you will be high. They have to be. You expect this, your families expect this, I expect this.”
Pitt, she said, has worked hard to gain a worldwide reputation for excellence and impact, “and when you tell your future employers that you attended the University of Pittsburgh, you’ll know that that’s distinct. It will be the first thing on their minds when they consider you. … If you feel these high expectations or whatever else you’re going to experience over these next years become a lot and you need support, we’re here for you for that, too.
“You are not alone,” she added. “This is a community, and we’re going to work every day to ensure that you and every member of our family feels welcomed and supported and has a strong sense of belonging.”
This, she noted, applies to first-generation and multi-generation students, natives of Pittsburgh or other parts of Pennsylvania, or “from afar from around the world,” those with lesser or greater financial means, committed to a personal philosophy of faith or a political discourse, “or if you’re still just figuring all that out … especially if you’re figuring all that out, just know that we’re here for you, and our Pitt family is here for you, and that we hear you and we will fight for you and support you,” she said.
Gabel encouraged taking part in community service and community engagement, and traveling abroad to “expand your view of the world,” take part in leadership through student government or other campus organizations, and pursue undergraduate research.
“I hope that you will embrace all of these opportunities and more. Embrace all the different points of view you’re going to encounter, the diversity of thought you’re going to experience,” she said. “Exercise your right to speak, debate or stand up to those that you disagree with. I hope you intend to be a leader in your field with a talent and uniqueness to solve the challenges of significance of the day, in your generation (and are) committed to causes larger than yourself.”
Noting current societal problems such as cybersecurity, global health and climate change, Gabel said she is “confident that your time here will prepare you to meet those challenges. They’re uniquely yours … The list will change during the time that you’re here and involved, and so will you. And if you take your own steps, I encourage you to call on us — on the faculty, on our staff — to support you.”
The people seated around her at the podium are “scholars and leaders with an extraordinary breadth of knowledge across every edge of the disciplines that you can experience,” Gabel said, encouraging students to “tap into this pipeline — this is why we’re here — and follow your interests and curiosities.
“This is a time for you to ask yourself what it means to be your best self, your best version of what it means to be a Panther,” she said. “Ask yourself what it would mean to have the passion, drive and commitment to meet your moment. We’re depending on you, but we also look forward to walking with you and supporting you through this journey.”
Joe McCarthy, interim provost following the recent departure of former provost Ann Cudd, introduced Gabel and also welcomed the class of 2027 with encouraging and challenging words.
“Each academic year begins with the excitement of formally welcoming in new students into the Pitt community at this convocation,” he said, noting students have been welcomed to the Pitt community for more than 230 years. “Each class that we’ve welcomed has made its own mark on this institution, as I expect that your class will, perhaps more importantly, each class that we’ve graduated has gone on to make it even greater, more through their contributions to the development of our society, as I know that your class will.
Noting that the class begins its Pitt journey “at a time of great challenge and even greater opportunity,” McCarthy said. “And we are counting on you to make our world a better place. Our accomplishments in this coming year will come in very significant measurement from your accomplishments. And we hope that your achievements will be even greater because you came here to the University of Pittsburgh.
“As part of our commitment to your ongoing growth, we will ensure that you have access to the tools, resources and support that you need to fulfill your potential,” McCarthy added. “We’re delighted that you’re with us, and we hope that your time at Pitt will (be among) the very best years of this great university.”
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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