Alumni

The 1936 Berlin Olympic Games were famous for Jesse Owens’ sweeping victories, but did you know that Pitt shares in the history too? A 21-year-old runner named John Woodruff (A&S ’39) paused mid-race and still managed to win the 800 meter competition. Pitt has his gold medal.

Gertrude Wade (EDUC ’44, ’46G) helped break the color barrier in Pittsburgh by landing the job as the first African American female principal in Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Though Perry Jones (ENGR ’59) encountered discrimination on his way to becoming a pilot, encouragement from his grandfather kept him going.

When Bridget Hunt-Tobey (MED ’19) took a course on human anatomy as part of Pitt’s Biomedical Master’s Program, she had no idea it would lead her to study bones of African American blast furnace workers in a first-ever internship program with the Smithsonian Institute.

Coming from a family that cherished education, Tony Fountain (A&S '70) is demonstrating what it looks like to empower the educators who teach the next generation.

Margaret Weitekamp (A&S ’93), the curator and department chair of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Space History Department, uses her passion for storytelling to encourage visitors to inquire about the past, and ignite their interest in the 5,000 artifacts under her charge.

The award-winning young adult novel “The Skin I'm In,” by Department of English alumna Sharon Flake (A&S ’78), has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. The author's debut novel, it tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who learns to overcome being bullied for her dark skin.

The sleuthing skills of Pitt alumnus Costas Karakatsanis (A&S ’74, ’78G), who worked in materials science at Bayer for three decades before retiring and taking up volunteering at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Art, made him a critical investigator in the mission to restore a masterpiece.

For the children of refugees and immigrants settling throughout the United States, the new way of life can feel very foreign. Pitt alumna Jenna Baron — through her nonprofit Alliance for Refugee Youth Support and Education — is finding ways to make them feel that they are truly where they belong.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist and Pitt Graduate School of Public Health alumnus Chris Taylor baked his way to first place — and a book deal — after taking his hobby to the next level.