Newsmakers

LAYING A HEALTHY FOUNDATION

Pitt students interested in health-sciences careers gathered Oct. 3 in the William Pitt Union for a daylong conference, Graduates of 2013 (G-2013) Pre-health Summit—Freshman Year: Laying the Pavement for Health Professions School Acceptance. The event addressed the expanded skill base necessary to succeed as a prehealth student at Pitt. From left are Marvin Roth, director of career services within Pitt’s Division of Student Affairs; Paula K. Davis, assistant vice chancellor of health sciences diversity; Candi Castleberry-Singleton, UPMC’s chief diversity officer; and Ryan Parker, director of Pitt’s Office of Health Sciences Diversity and conference coordinator. The event was sponsored by Pitt’s COACH (Creating Opportunities and Access to Careers in Health) Program, Office of Health Sciences Diversity, University Honors College, Academic Resource Center, and UPMC.

ACROSS THE GLOBE

Members of a Zambian research team joined the Pitt School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine for an Aug. 30 dinner held in the home of Robert Hill, Pitt vice chancellor for public affairs. The Zambian researchers were invited to Pittsburgh through a University Center for International Studies and Center for Global Health-funded grant that supported a Maternal Health Disparities Conference and seminars for undergraduates, law students, and faculty. Clinicians and scientists from the University of Zambia and Pitt have formed a collaborative to address factors that enhance the continuum and quality of care for maternal and child health in Zambia as well as in Western Pennsylvania. From left, Jeannette South-Paul, the Andrew W. Mathieson Professor and Chair in the Pitt School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine; Michael Paul; Zambian researchers Obed Lungu, Getrude Tshuma, Fastone Goma, Beatrice Zulu, and Dhally Menda; and Hill.

TEENS WHO ‘SHYNE’

The 3rd Annual Shyne Awards were held Aug. 6 in the Byham Theater, Downtown. The awards showcase the positive achievements made by young adults between the ages of 13 to 19. Among the awards’ sponsors were Pitt’s Office of Public Affairs and the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business’s David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership.

HUMANITIES CENTER LAUNCH

Below: Pitt’s new Humanities Center held its inaugural conference, Humanities in a Time of Crisis, in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium on Nov. 13-14. The center is located in 602 Cathedral of Learning, and its director is Jonathan Arac, a Pitt professor of English. John Cooper, the Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Dean of Arts and Sciences (left), and Arac (right) delivered opening remarks for the conference.

THE REWARDS OF DIGNITY AND RESPECT

Rachel Rosnick, a third-year student in Pitt’s School of Law, won a new 16GB iPod as part of UPMC’s Dignity and Respect Campaign, which ran throughout October and encouraged dignity and respect in the workplace. Participants from companies and organizations in Southwestern Pennsylvania made online Dignity and Respect pledges and also registered to interact on the campaign’s Facebook page, making them eligible to win the iPod. Rosnick, who stands beside campaign mascot “Dr. Diggy” in the William Pitt Union, received her prize from Carol Mohamed, director of Pitt’s Office of Affirmative Action, Diversity, and Inclusion; Erica Metzger, an intern with the UPMC Center for Inclusion; and Dawnita J. Wilson, the center’s chief of staff.