From conducting self-led research on environmental justice to interviewing prominent Black Lives Matter activists Bree Newsome Bass and Darnell L. Moore for Pitt’s new anti-racism course, senior Oluchi Okafor is making their mark on vital contemporary issues.

Compressing the academic calendar to finish on-campus learning by Thanksgiving break means Labor Day is a class and work day at Pitt this year. The move was designed to limit the risk of spreading COVID-19 during the holiday travel season.

Years ago, three students dreamed up the Year of Engagement and worked to make it a reality for 2020-2021. Learn how to get involved—including applying for funding and winning prizes during the Fourteen Day Challenge, which starts today.

Nick Trainer (A&S '10) double majored at the University of Pittsburgh in political science and history and has taken his love of politics into his current role as director of battleground strategy for the Donald Trump presidential campaign.

This week, Katie Fricchione (A&S ’12) is putting her Pitt degree to work as deputy director of public engagement for the DNC. And public health graduate student Amy Raslevich shared her personal story with the likes of Nancy Pelosi during a panel on health care coverage.

“If you can avoid it, you should avoid it, and there’s no reason to not take reasonable precautions,” says Madeleine Biache, a Pitt student who contracted COVID-19 this spring. See what advice she has for students as they return to campus this fall.

Leonard Berenfield (ENGR ’64), who initiated the creation of the Office of Interfaith Dialogue and Engagement, has given Pitt students the opportunity to unite across differences.

A grassroots effort started by Jennifer Iriti, a research scientist at Pitt, quickly became a movement to donate more than 70 anti-racist books to teachers across the country.

Yesterday’s latest town hall, hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in partnership with the Office of Health Sciences Diversity, featured an expert panel discussion of systemic racism, capitalism and the history of inequity and social justice in the U.S. Read a recap or watch the video.

Our food ecosystem is broken, says business professor and acting dean of the Honors College Audrey J. Murrell. Research at Pitt and partnerships in the community aim to help fix it.