The Plan for Pitt: Advance Educational Excellence

Kathryn Reed in a black and gold dress with a stethoscope around her neck
Kathryn Reed (SHRS ’14 ’16G) wants to make Pitt and the physician assistant profession itself more inclusive.
Gabriella Ogude in a black scarf and tan jacket in front of the Washington Monument
Enhanced security and pandemic precautions limited the number of people at the Inauguration Day proceedings, but Gabriella Ogude was able to see history in the making.
Barry Mitnick in a black suit and red tie
For decades, presidents routinely replaced large swaths of the government workforce, often requiring them to pay fees to political parties in exchange for their jobs. Professor Barry Mitnick explains the history of the “spoils” system in The Conversation.
paul Harper in a black suit and gray dress shirt
In a new course and upcoming Racial Justice Web Forum, Paul T. Harper examines the intersection of business, ethics and race in America. Register for the five-part forum, which begins Jan. 22.
Lissette Escariz Ferrá in a red, orange and pink dress standing outdoors
Why does the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” still speak to us today? Third-year PhD student and composition instructor Lissette Escariz Ferrá helps her students understand.
A black and white image overlaid with green, yellow and red tint, of a protest. A person is holding a sign that says "Racism is the biggest pandemic"
Artists have until Feb. 1 to submit their work to the “Don’t Look Away: Because Mattering is the Minimum” exhibit, which asks the question, “What does Black Lives Matter mean to you?” The exhibit will travel to all Pitt campuses and feature performances.
A student with blue-green and black hair uses lab equipment
Simply acknowledging that college is challenging during introductory science courses has helped to close racial and gender achievement gaps. The intervention, begun in a Pitt biology course, is being adopted at universities around the country.
A person standing in front of a blackboard in a black top, with a screenshot of an animal superimposed
From cannibal worms to fish with clear blood, second-year PhD student April Rich explains unusual topics in biology for intermediate learners.