Pitt’s AAAC and BAS Host Ninth Annual Interfaith Baccalaureate Service April 27

The University of Pittsburgh’s African American Alumni Council (AAAC) of the Pitt Alumni Association and Black Action Society will celebrate the academic achievements and honors of more than 150 graduating seniors and their families at the ninth annual Interfaith Baccalaureate Service at 3 p.m. April 27 in the Seventh-Floor Auditorium of Alumni Hall. During the event, the AAAC will recognize the inaugural winners of their Rising African American Leaders Award.

The Baccalaureate Service’s keynote speaker will be Candi Castleberry-Singleton, chief inclusion and diversity officer with UPMC. Other speakers include Pitt’s Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Patricia E. Beeson. Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kathy Humphrey will serve as the event’s mistress of ceremonies.

In her role with UPMC, Castleberry-Singleton is charged with developing the organization’s inclusion strategy, including its Cultural Competency in Patient Care Initiative and the Dignity and Respect Campaign as well as overseeing progress toward system wide diversity goals involving more than 50,000 employees.

The AAAC is an affiliate council chartered and governed under the bylaws of the University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association. Its mission is to support African American alumni, faculty, staff, and students and to strengthen their connection to the University through the council’s many programs and activities. Established in the 1980s, the AAAC comprises more than 400 lifetime members. Visit www.alumni.pitt.edu/aaac for more information.

Founded in 1968, the Black Action Society is an undergraduate student-run organization of the University of Pittsburgh that works to bring about social awareness among African American students, faculty, and staff members.