University of Pittsburgh

Hugh Henry Brackenridge, founder of Pittsburgh Academy, the precursor to the University of Pittsburgh

Founding

Founded by Hugh Henry Brackenridge as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787, the University of Pittsburgh is one of the few universities and colleges established in the 18th century in the United States. It is the oldest continuously chartered institution of learning in the U.S. west of the Allegheny Mountains.^[9] The school began as a preparatory school, presumably in a log cabin, possibly as early as 1770^[10] in Western Pennsylvania, then a frontier.^[11] Brackenridge obtained a charter for the school from the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 28, 1787, just ten weeks before the opening of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.^[12][13] A brick building was erected in 1790 on the south side of Third Street and Cherry Alley for the Pittsburgh Academy.^[14][15] The small two-story brick building, with a gable facing the alley, contained three rooms: one below and two above.^[16]

Western University of Pennsylvania

The university in 1833 at its location on 3rd Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh

Within a short period, more advanced education in the area was needed, so in 1819 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amended the school's 1787 charter to confer university status. The school was named the Western University of Pennsylvania, or WUP, and was intended to be the western sister institution to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.^[13][17] By 1830, WUP had moved into a new three-story, freestone-fronted building, with Ionic columns and a cupola, near its original buildings fronting the south side of Third Street, between Smithfield Street and Cherry Alley in downtown Pittsburgh. By the 1830s, the university faced severe financial pressure to abandon its traditional liberal education in favor of the state legislature's desire for it to provide more vocational training. The decision to remain committed to liberal education nearly killed the university, but it persevered despite its abandonment by the city and state.^[18] It was also during this era that the founder of Mellon Bank, Thomas Mellon (Class of 1837), graduated and later taught at WUP.^[19][14][15]

The university's buildings, along with most of its records and files, were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1845 that wiped out 20 square blocks of Pittsburgh. Classes were temporarily held in Trinity Church until a new building was constructed on Duquesne Way (on what was the site of the former Horne's department store). Only four years later, in 1849, this building also was destroyed by fire. Due to the catastrophic nature of these fires, operations were suspended for a few years to allow the university time to regroup and rebuild. By 1854, WUP had erected a new building on the corner of Ross and Diamond (now Forbes Avenue) streets (site of the present day City-County building) and classes resumed in 1855. It is during this era, in 1867, that Samuel Pierpont Langley, astronomer, inventor, aviation pioneer and future Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was chosen as director of the Allegheny Observatory that was donated to WUP in 1865. Langley was professor of astronomy and physics and remained at WUP until 1891, when he was succeeded by another prominent astronomer, James Keeler. Growing quickly during this period, WUP outgrew its downtown facilities and the university moved its campus to Allegheny City (present-day North Side).^[19][14][15]

The university eventually found itself on a 10-acre (4.0 ha) site on the North Side's Observatory Hill at the location of its Allegheny Observatory. There, it constructed two new buildings, Science Hall and Main Hall, that were occupied by 1889 and 1890 respectively. During this era, the first collegiate football team was formed at Pitt in 1889. In 1892, the Western Pennsylvania Medical College was amalgamated into the university. By 1893, the university had graduated its first African-American, William Hunter Dammond.^[20] In 1895 WUP established its School of Law, and Andrew Carnegie and George Westinghouse were elected to the board of trustees, where they joined Andrew Mellon, who had been elected in 1894. The Pittsburgh College of Pharmacy and Pittsburgh Dental School also joined the university in 1896. In 1898, the first women, sisters Margaret and Stella Stein, graduated from the university.^[21] During this period, university engineering professor Reginald Fessenden was conducting pioneering work in radio broadcasting. By 1904, playing at Exposition Park, the university had its first undefeated football team.^{[19][14][15][22]}

A new name and home

The Cathedral of Learning, the centerpiece of Pitt's campus and the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere

Citing a need to avoid confusion, distinguish itself from the University of Pennsylvania, and return to its roots by identifying itself with the city, the Western University of Pennsylvania, by act of the state legislature, was renamed the University of Pittsburgh in the summer of 1908. During this time, the university had also outgrown its accommodations on what is now the North Side of Pittsburgh and its departments had been scattered throughout the city for years. To consolidate all of its components on one campus, WUP bought 43 acres (17 ha) of land in December 1907 in what is now the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh and began relocating departments there by 1909.^[23] The initial campus plan for the new location centered on the winning submission from a national architectural contest that incorporated a Greek Acropolis design by Henry Hornbostel for 30 buildings.^[24] However, due to financial and other constraints, only four of the buildings were constructed in this style, of which only Thaw Hall remains today. In the fall of 1909, the university became the first college to adopt the panther as its mascot.^[25] It was also during this period that the university, led by Chancellor Samuel McCormick, again held off pressures to abandon the school's commitment to liberal education in favor of more technical-based training. During his administration, McCormick also led the university into a new level of national recognition, expansion, and growth, as well as beginning institutional support of athletics.^[24]

In the 1920s, new university chancellor John Gabbert Bowman declared that he had a vision for a centerpiece "tall building" for the university. The 14 acres (5.7 ha) Frick Acres property in Oakland was soon purchased and plans for the campus shifted focus from the hillside to a neo-Gothic Revival plan that today comprises the Cathedral of Learning, Heinz Memorial Chapel, Stephen Foster Memorial, and Clapp Hall buildings. By 1925, Bowman had settled on a design by Charles Klauder for the "tall building": an attention-getting 535-foot (163 m) tower whose great height, with open spaces all around, would suggest the "character that ought to be in an educated man." The building's "parallel lines going up and up...would express courage [and] fearlessness" and it would "unify Pittsburgh into a community conscious of its character." The cathedral is "cut off" flat at the top to suggest that its lines, like education, have no ending. The building was financed by donors and by a campaign to collect dimes from local school children. Bowman was a persuasive leader and although the Great Depression intervened, the Cathedral of Learning, on which construction was begun in 1926, began hosting classes in 1931 and was formally dedicated in 1937. Today, it remains the second tallest university building in the world and contains an equally impressive interior highlighted by a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m²) Gothic hall Commons Room with 52-foot (16 m) tall arches currently surrounded by 31 Nationality Rooms. Seven more Nationality Rooms are in the making.^[26]

Development of the polio vaccine

Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine at the University of Pittsburgh.

In the early 20th century, epidemics of polio began to hit the United States and other industrialized countries. As hospitals filled with patients in iron lungs, and tens of thousands were left disabled, the fear of polio grew, leading to the closing of many public facilities. Meanwhile, Dr. Jonas Salk had set up the University of Pittsburgh's Virus Research Lab in the basement of what is now Salk Hall. By 1951, Salk and his team had begun immunization experiments in monkeys using dead polio virus. Soon, however, Salk began to test inoculations in paralyzed polio patients and by 1953 human trials among the general population were initiated. By the spring of the following year, the largest controlled field trials in medical history were underway, and by 1955 the vaccine developed by Salk and his researchers was declared effective. By 1962, Salk's vaccine had reduced the incidence of polio in the United States by 95 percent. The breakthroughs in immunology and vaccine development at Pitt by Salk and his team are considered one of the most significant scientific and medical achievements in history.^[27][28]

State relations to present day

In 1966, Pitt was designated by Pennsylvania as a state-related university. As such, Pitt receives public funds ($154.3 million in fiscal year 2016) covering about 7% of its operating budget,^[29] and offers reduced tuition to Pennsylvania residents. Pitt retains independent control, but is typically categorized as a public university. Upon affiliation with the state, subsidized tuition led to a massive influx of new students and rapid expansion of Pitt's size and scope. In the 1970s, Pitt's football team returned to greatness with a national championship season in 1976 led by Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett and continued success in the 1980s with players such as Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino. In the 1980s, significant medical research in the field of organ transplantation was conducted by Thomas Starzl, establishing Pitt as the world leader in the field of organ transplantation. In 1991, chancellor Wesley Posvar retired after 24 years in office. His administration is best known for elimination of the university's debt from its 1960s financial crisis and for increasing the school's prestige and endowment. Under Posvar, Pitt's operating budget grew sevenfold to $630 million and its endowment tripled to $257 million.^[30]

Mark Nordenberg was chancellor of the university from 1995 to 2014 and led Pitt through a period of substantial progress, including a $2-billion capital-raising campaign that is over three quarters of the way toward achieving its goal^[31] and a $1-billion 12-year facilities plan.^[32] Major initiatives and events that have occurred during his tenure include the construction of the Petersen Events Center, a major expansion of on-campus housing, the growth of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the restructuring of its relationship with the university, and a series of disruptive bomb threats that occurred in 2012.

Patrick D. Gallagher was named the 18th chancellor of the university and assumed the office on August 1, 2014.^[33]

Discover more about History related topics

Hugh Henry Brackenridge

Hugh Henry Brackenridge

Hugh Henry Brackenridge was an American writer, lawyer, judge, and justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

History of the University of Pittsburgh

History of the University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is an independent, state-related, doctoral/research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. For most of its history, Pitt was a private institution until it became part of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education in 1966.

Allegheny Mountains

Allegheny Mountains

The Allegheny Mountain Range, informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less developed eras. The Allegheny Mountains have a northeast–southwest orientation, running for about 400 miles (640 km) from north-central Pennsylvania, southward through western Maryland and eastern West Virginia.

Log Cabin (University of Pittsburgh)

Log Cabin (University of Pittsburgh)

The Log Cabin at the University of Pittsburgh, located near Forbes Avenue, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania adjacent to the school's Cathedral of Learning, serves as a landmark that symbolizes the university's origins on the 18th Century western frontier of the early United States. The current log cabin, estimated to date from the 1820s to 1830s, was reconstructed on the university's campus for its bicentennial celebration in order to represent Pitt's original log structure that served the institution through the school's founding in 1787 to the construction of a brick building sometime in the 1790s. The Log Cabin often appears in images and promotional material, particularly when relating to the history of the university.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. Pennsylvania borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio to its west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest, New York state to its north, and the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. It is one of the most historically significant cities in the United States and served as the nation's capital until 1800. Philadelphia is the nation's sixth-largest city with a population of 1,603,797 as of the 2020 census. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of the world's largest metropolitan regions with 6.245 million residents. Philadelphia is known for its extensive contributions to American history, especially the American Revolution, and for its contemporary influence in business and industry, culture, sports, and music.

Pennsylvania General Assembly

Pennsylvania General Assembly

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly and was unicameral. Since the Constitution of 1776, the legislature has been known as the General Assembly. The General Assembly became a bicameral legislature in 1791.

Great Fire of Pittsburgh

Great Fire of Pittsburgh

The Great Fire of Pittsburgh occurred on April 10, 1845, destroying a third of the city and causing between $6 million and $12 million in damage. While having little effect on the culture of the city except to spur further growth, it would provide a temporal reference point for the remainder of the century and beyond.

Pittsburgh City-County Building

Pittsburgh City-County Building

The Pittsburgh City-County Building is the seat of government for the City of Pittsburgh, and houses both Pittsburgh and Allegheny County offices. It is located in Downtown Pittsburgh at 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Built from 1915-17 it is the third seat of government of Pittsburgh. Today the building is occupied mostly by Pittsburgh offices with Allegheny County located in adjacent county facilities. It also contains a courtroom used for the Pittsburgh sessions of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution, or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. It was originally organized as the United States National Museum, but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967.

Allegheny Observatory

Allegheny Observatory

The Allegheny Observatory is an American astronomical research institution, a part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh. The facility is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a Pennsylvania state and Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation historic landmark.

James Edward Keeler

James Edward Keeler

James Edward Keeler was an American astronomer. He was an early observer of galaxies using photography, as well as the first to show observationally that the rings of Saturn do not rotate as a solid body.

The lower campus, the traditional heart of the university, is typified by Gothic Revival architecture including Heinz Chapel (right) and the Stephen Foster Memorial (center foreground), but the 42-story Cathedral of Learning dominates most views across the Oakland neighborhood.

The University of Pittsburgh's main campus comprises approximately 132 urban acres (0.53 km²) located in Pittsburgh's historic Oakland neighborhood. Much of the campus, including its centerpiece 42-story Cathedral of Learning, falls within the Oakland Civic Center/Schenley Farms National Historic District.^[34] The campus has been noted for its impressive architecture,^[35] and contains an eclectic mix of architecture that includes Greek revival, Neogothic, Italian Renaissance, and modern. It has been termed "a theme park of replica buildings, representing the architecture of the past speaking to the present."^[36] The campus has won multiple Green Star Awards from the Professional Grounds Management Society.^[37][38][39]

The University of Pittsburgh's main campus contains four contiguous sections: upper (sports complexes, residence halls); mid (Benedum, Chevron, Allen and Thaw Halls); lower (Cathedral of Learning, Union, Posvar Hall); and on the west end of campus, the medical center complex. The campus is bordered by Darragh Street/McKee Place to the west and Bellefield Avenue/Dithridge Street to the east; Forbes and Fifth avenues traverse the campus from west to east. Although generally within walking distance, the university also runs a bus and shuttle service between various campus locations and bordering neighborhoods.^[40]

The main campus is within walking distance of many recreational, cultural, and educational institutions in the Oakland neighborhood. The campus is adjacent to Schenley Plaza, the main branch of the Carnegie Public Library, the Carnegie Museums of Natural History and Art and the Carnegie Music Hall, as well as portions of Carnegie Mellon University. Carlow University is just west of campus, adjacent to the university's medical center complexes. The main quad of Carnegie Mellon University, Central Catholic High School, and historic Schenley Park, site of the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, lie across Junction Hollow on the east end.

Historic buildings

Heinz Memorial Chapel

Two Pitt buildings are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Allegheny Observatory (in Pittsburgh's Riverview Park on the Northside) and the Cathedral of Learning.^[41] Twenty-one of Pitt's buildings (including the 5 residence halls that make up Schenley Quadrangle, see below) are contributing properties to the Schenley Farms-Oakland Civic Center Historic District that has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district.^[34]

Due to the historical nature of various sites around Pitt's buildings, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has placed historical markers outside the Allegheny Observatory,^[42] Posvar Hall,^[43][44] Salk Hall,^[45] Stephen Foster Memorial,^[46] and the William Pitt Union.^[47] In addition, a Pennsylvania Historical Marker has been placed on campus near the Cathedral of Learning to mark the significance of the University of Pittsburgh itself.^[48] Another state historical marker has been placed to highlight the significance of Pitt's involvement in the archaeological excavation at the Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Avella, Pennsylvania.^[49]

In addition, the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation has designated the following Pitt buildings as Pittsburgh Historic Landmarks: Allegheny Observatory, Allen Hall, Alumni Hall, Bellefield Hall, Chancellor's Residence, Cathedral of Learning, the Cathedral of Learning interior rooms, Gardner Steel Conference Center, Heinz Memorial Chapel, Thaw Hall, Salk Hall, Schenley Quadrangle residence halls, Stephen Foster Memorial, the University Child Development Center, and the William Pitt Union.^[50][51]

Other Pitt buildings not designated individually as landmarks, but listed among the 16 Pitt-owned contributing properties to the Schenley Farms Historic District, include Clapp Hall, O'Hara Student Center, Ruskin Hall, Thackeray Hall, Frick Fine Arts Building, Music Building, and the University Club.^[52]

The restored Louis XV mirrored ballroom of the Beaux-Arts styled William Pitt Union

Historic structures within, adjacent to, or near Pitt's campus, but not belonging to the university, include the Carnegie Museum buildings, Frick School, Forbes Field wall remnant, Magee Estate iron fence, the Schenley Fountain, Mellon Institute, Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Schenley High School, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall – where scenes of The Silence of the Lambs were filmed in 1990, and the Stephen Foster sculpture. Many of these buildings and their facilities are integrated into the events and activities of the university.^[53][54][55]

Other buildings

The art gallery at the Frick Fine Arts Building

The majority of Pitt-owned facilities are clustered in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh which includes the Schenley Farms Historic District, however a few prominent facilities are scattered elsewhere throughout the city, including the adjacent Shadyside neighborhood. Pitt also maintains regional Pennsylvania campuses in Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville, as well as a Computer Center in RIDC Park in Blawnox, the Plum Boro Science Center in Plum, the University of Pittsburgh Applied Research Center (U-PARC) in Harmarville, and the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology in Linesville.^[56] The university also has a major archeological research site, the Allen L. Cook Spring Creek Preserve, in Spring Creek, Wyoming.^[57][58]

Athletic facilities of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers that are located in Oakland in the upper campus and include the Charles L Cost Sports Center, Fitzgerald Field House, the Petersen Events Center, Trees Hall and Trees Field. An approximately $30 million upgrade of on-campus sports facilities, starting with the Petersen Sports Complex, includes new soccer, baseball, softball facilities, and helps clear a space for the future construction of a new track and field and band complex.^[59] Athletic facilities in Pittsburgh that are located outside of the Oakland neighborhood include Acrisure Stadium and the UPMC Sports Performance Complex.^[60]

Major on-campus residence halls include the Litchfield Towers, Schenley Quadrangle, Nordenberg Hall, Bouquet Gardens and Ruskin Hall located on the lower campus, Lothrop Hall and Forbes Hall on the medical campus, and Pennsylvania, Panther, and Sutherland halls located on the upper campus.^[61]

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Thomas Starzl Biomedical Science Tower is connected to the med school and UPMC's flagship hospitals

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is consistently ranked in U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of America's top hospitals^[62] and consists of the following hospitals and facilities in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland, many of which have shared uses with various University departments: UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, UPMC Montefiore Hospital, Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Thomas Detre Hall, Eye and Ear Institute, Forbes Tower (home to the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences), Iroquois Building, Kaufman Medical Building, Medical Arts Building, 230 McKee Place, and UPMC University Center. UPMC academic hospitals and facilities elsewhere in Pittsburgh include the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh campus in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side, and the UPMC Shadyside and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in the Hillman Cancer Center (both located in the Shadyside neighborhood adjacent to Oakland).^[63]

Regional campuses

Regional campuses offer master's, bachelor's, and associate degrees at four locations in Western Pennsylvania. They also allow students to take preliminary courses and relocate to other regional campuses or the Oakland campus to complete their degrees. They offer several degrees and certificates:

• University of Pittsburgh at Bradford – master's, bachelor's, associate's and certificates
• University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg – master's, bachelor's and certificates
• University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown – bachelor's and certificates
• University of Pittsburgh at Titusville – associate's and certificates

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Gothic Revival architecture

Gothic Revival architecture

Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the late 1840s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly serious and learned admirers of the neo-Gothic styles sought to revive medieval Gothic architecture, intending to complement or even supersede the neoclassical styles prevalent at the time. Gothic Revival draws upon features of medieval examples, including decorative patterns, finials, lancet windows, and hood moulds. By the middle of the 19th century, Gothic Revival had become the preeminent architectural style in the Western world, only to fall out of fashion in the 1880s and early 1890s.

Stephen Foster Memorial

Stephen Foster Memorial

The Stephen Collins Foster Memorial is a performing arts center and museum which houses the Stephen Foster Archives at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is dedicated to the life and works of American songwriter Stephen Foster.

Cathedral of Learning

Cathedral of Learning

The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story skyscraper that serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Standing at 535 feet (163 m), the 42-story Late Gothic Revival Cathedral is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere and the second-tallest university building in the world, after the main building of Moscow State University. It is also the second-tallest gothic-styled building in the world, after the Woolworth Building in Manhattan. The Cathedral of Learning was commissioned in 1921 and ground was broken in 1926 under general contractor Stone & Webster. The first class was held in the building in 1931 and its exterior finished in October 1934, prior to its formal dedication in June 1937. It is a Pittsburgh landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Oakland (Pittsburgh)

Oakland (Pittsburgh)

Oakland is the academic and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and one of the city's major cultural centers. Home to three universities, museums, hospitals, shopping venues, restaurants, and recreational activities, this section of the city also includes two city-designated historic districts: the mostly residential Schenley Farms Historic District and the predominantly institutional Oakland Civic Center Historic District, as well as the locally-designated Oakland Square Historic District.

Schenley Farms Historic District

Schenley Farms Historic District

The Schenley Farms Historic District, also referred to as the Schenley Farms–Oakland Civic District, is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places that is located in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

Professional Grounds Management Society

Professional Grounds Management Society

The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) is an individual membership society of grounds professionals advancing the grounds management profession through education and professional development in the United States.

Benedum Hall

Benedum Hall

Michael L. Benedum Hall of Engineering is a landmark academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The building was designed in the brutalist style by the architectural firm of Deeter, Ritchey, and Sippel and completed in 1971 at a cost of $15 million. The building was honored with both the Pennsylvania Society American Institute of Architects Honor Award and Distinguished Building Award. It was built with a gift from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and funds from the General State Authority. It stands on a 1.8-acre (7,300 m2) site that was formerly occupied by the National Guard's Logan Armory.

Chevron Science Center

Chevron Science Center

Chevron Science Center is a landmark academic building at 219 Parkman Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. The 15-story facility, completed in 1974, was designed by Kuhn, Newcomer & Valentour and houses the university's chemistry department. A three-story addition above Ashe Auditorium was completed in 2011.

Allen Hall (University of Pittsburgh)

Allen Hall (University of Pittsburgh)

Allen Hall at the University of Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District. Completed in 1914 and originally serving as the home to the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, the six story Greek Revival building designed by J. H. Giesey now serves as the home of the university's Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Thaw Hall

Thaw Hall

Thaw Hall is a historic academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh that is a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District and has been named a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark. The five story building of stone, brick, and terra cotta was completed in 1910 in the Neoclassical Beaux-Arts style by architect Henry Hornbostel and today serves as space for a variety of academic classrooms, labs, offices, and centers. It is located between, and connected to, the university's Old Engineering Hall and Space Research Coordination Center (SRCC) along O'Hara Street in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is an American integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and doctors' offices, a 3.8 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and international ventures. It is closely affiliated with its academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh. It is considered a leading American health care provider, as its flagship facilities have ranked in U.S. News & World Report "Honor Roll" of the approximately 15 to 20 best hospitals in America for over 15 years. As of 2016, its flagship hospital UPMC Presbyterian is ranked 12th nationally among the best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report and ranked in 15 of 16 specialty areas when including UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. This does not include UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh which ranked in the top 10 of pediatric centers in a separate US News ranking.

Schenley Plaza

Schenley Plaza

Schenley Plaza is a public park serving as the grand entrance into Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Aerial view of the university and Oakland neighborhood; Carnegie Mellon University is at top-right

The University of Pittsburgh has been noted for both its role in community outreach and its impact on the economy of the city and the Western Pennsylvania region. In 2009, Pitt was ranked second overall, and the top public university in the nation, as a "Best Neighbor" for positive impact on its urban community, including both commercial and residential activities such as revitalization, cultural renewal, economics, and community service and development according to the "Saviors of Our Cities" ranking.^[64] Pitt was also listed as a "best neighbor" in the previous ranking released in 2006.^[65] These rankings reflect the statistics that each year Pitt spends more than $1.7 billion in the community and supports nearly 33,800 jobs in Allegheny County. The university is the Pittsburgh region's second largest non-government employer behind its affiliated University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).^[66] Pitt's research program alone imports more than $822 million into the region each year (more than $3.60 for each $1 of state appropriations), and supports some 23,100 local jobs.^[67][14][23] Pitt students also spend more than $213 million on goods, services, and rental payments within the local economy.^[68] Pitt ranked sixth in the number of startups spawned by technologies developed by its researchers according to Association of University Technology Managers.^[69]

Then-Vice President of the United States Joe Biden speaks at the Peterson Events Center on April 5, 2016.

Pitt and its medical school are the academic partners of the closely affiliated the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. With over 1450 employees and $1 billion annual revenue, UPMC is the largest non-government employer in Pennsylvania.^[70]

Through the Pitt Volunteer Pool, faculty and staff members donate more than 10,000 hours annually to community service projects for agencies such as the Salvation Army, Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Pitt is a leading producer of Peace Corps volunteers.^[68][71] According to the Peace Corps' 2008 ranking of colleges and universities, only 14 schools in the nation produced more Peace Corps volunteers.^[72] Pitt's graduate school also ranked tenth for most alumni Peace Corps volunteers.^[73]

Sustainability

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The University of Pittsburgh has undertaken programs to improve sustainability initiatives and practices. Pitt started programs in ecology and established biological field stations in 1926.^[74] In 1990, Pitt was one of the first 22 signatories of the Talloires Declaration.^[75] In 2003, Pitt founded its Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation.^[76][77] In 2013, Pitt released its first sustainability report^[78] and in 2014 celebrated a "Year of Sustainability"^[79] by launching a Student Office of Sustainability that now has over 25 affiliated student organizations.^[80] In 2018, Pitt published its first comprehensive "Pitt Sustainability Plan",^[81] established the Office of Sustainability,^[82] and hired its first director of sustainability.^[83][84] In 2020, Pitt committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2037 (its 250th anniversary)^[85] and its first climate action plan came out in 2022.^[86]

Pitt received a AASHE STARS Gold rating in 2021,^[87] building on its Silver rating from 2018,^[88] has long been on The Princeton Review's "Green Colleges" list,^[89] been included on the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Powered Universities list since 2018,^[90][91] won multiple Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenges,^[92] and has other third-party recognitions.

In 2018, the university announced its intention to buy all of the electricity from a run-of-the-river hydro power facility to be built by Rye Development at Allegheny Lock and Dam No. 2 on the Allegheny River in 2023.^[93] In 2020, the university announced a second local renewable power purchasing agreement, for solar power to be built on the birder of Beaver and Allegheny counties near Pittsburgh International Airport.^[94]

The university has been criticized for some of its financial investments, namely those in the fossil fuel industry.^[95][96] In 2020, a Board report disclosed that endowment exposure to fossil fuels had decreased 42% between 2015 and 2020, with zero private investments in fossil fuels by the end of 2035.^[97]

Discover more about Community impact related topics

Oakland (Pittsburgh)

Oakland (Pittsburgh)

Oakland is the academic and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and one of the city's major cultural centers. Home to three universities, museums, hospitals, shopping venues, restaurants, and recreational activities, this section of the city also includes two city-designated historic districts: the mostly residential Schenley Farms Historic District and the predominantly institutional Oakland Civic Center Historic District, as well as the locally-designated Oakland Square Historic District.

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The institution was originally established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology and began granting four-year degrees. In 1967, it became the current-day Carnegie Mellon University through its merger with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, founded in 1913 by Andrew Mellon and Richard B. Mellon and formerly a part of the University of Pittsburgh.

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat is Pittsburgh. Allegheny County is part of the Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan statistical area and the Pittsburgh media market.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is an American integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and doctors' offices, a 3.8 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and international ventures. It is closely affiliated with its academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh. It is considered a leading American health care provider, as its flagship facilities have ranked in U.S. News & World Report "Honor Roll" of the approximately 15 to 20 best hospitals in America for over 15 years. As of 2016, its flagship hospital UPMC Presbyterian is ranked 12th nationally among the best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report and ranked in 15 of 16 specialty areas when including UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. This does not include UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh which ranked in the top 10 of pediatric centers in a separate US News ranking.

Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. is an American politician who is the 46th and current president of the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama and represented Delaware in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009.

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a medical school of the University of Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The School of Medicine, also known as Pitt Med, is consistently ranked as a "Top Medical School" by U.S. News & World Report in both research and primary care. It was ranked 13th in the category of research and 14th in primary care by U.S. News for 2020 and is separately ranked 17th in the Academic Ranking of World Universities list of best medical schools in the world. The school encompasses both a medical program, offering the doctor of medicine, and graduate programs, offering doctor of philosophy and master's degrees in several areas of biomedical science, clinical research, medical education, and medical informatics.

Peace Corps

Peace Corps

The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. Kennedy and authorized by Congress the following September by the Peace Corps Act.

Sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is a societal goal that relates to the ability of people to safely co-exist on Earth over a long time. Specific definitions of this term are difficult to agree on and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability is commonly described as having three dimensions : environmental, economic, and social. Many publications state that the environmental dimension is the most important. For this reason, in everyday use, sustainability is often focused on countering major environmental problems, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, loss of ecosystem services, land degradation, and air and water pollution. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels.

Talloires Declaration

Talloires Declaration

The Talloires Declaration is a declaration for sustainability, created for and by presidents of institutions of higher learning. Jean Mayer, Tufts University president, convened a conference of 22 universities in 1990 in Talloires, France. This document is a declaration that institutions of higher learning will be world leaders in developing, creating, supporting and maintaining sustainability. The registrar for the declaration is the Washington, DC-based organisation University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF). As of 1 February 2017, 502 college and university presidents have signed the declaration. These span 55 countries on five continents, with 170 in the United States alone.

The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,000+ tutors and teachers in the United States, Canada and international offices in 21 countries.; online resources; more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. The Princeton Review’s affiliate division, Tutor.com, provides online tutoring services. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York City and is privately held. The Princeton Review is not associated with Princeton University.

List of counties in Pennsylvania

List of counties in Pennsylvania

The following is a list of the 67 counties of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The city of Philadelphia is coterminous with Philadelphia County, the municipalities having been consolidated in 1854, and all remaining county government functions having been merged into the city after a 1951 referendum. Eight of the ten most populous counties are in the southeastern portion of the state, including four out of the top five, and eight of the top ten most populous counties are in either the Philadelphia or Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

Fossil fuel

Fossil fuel

A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. Fossil fuels may be burned to provide heat for use directly, to power engines, or to generate electricity. Some fossil fuels are refined into derivatives such as kerosene, gasoline and propane before burning. The origin of fossil fuels is the anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms, containing organic molecules created by photosynthesis. The conversion from these materials to high-carbon fossil fuels typically require a geological process of millions of years.

The university was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1787 and it operated as a fully private institution until an alteration to its charter in 1966 at which point it became part of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education. This conferred "state-related" status to the university making it a legal instrument of the Commonwealth which provides an annual financial appropriation, currently 7.7% of the university's total operating budget,^[98] in exchange for the university offering tuition discounts to students who are residents of Pennsylvania. Legally, however, the university remains a private entity, operating under its nonprofit corporate charter, governed by its independent Board of Trustees, and with its assets under its own ownership and control. Therefore, it retains the freedom and individuality of a private institution, both administratively and academically, setting its own standards for admissions, awarding of degrees, faculty qualifications, teaching, and staff hiring.^[c]

The university's board of trustees maintains ultimate legal authority, governance, and responsibility for the university but specifically reserves authority over selecting the university's chancellor; approval of major policies, particularly those related to the fiduciary responsibilities of the board; and the definition of the university's mission and goals. It is made up of 36 voting members: chancellor, 17 term trustees elected by the board, 6 alumni trustees elected by the board on nomination from the Alumni Association Board of directors, and 12 Commonwealth trustees. The governor of Pennsylvania, the president pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate, and the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives each appoints four of the 12 Commonwealth trustees. Additional non-voting trustees include 14 special trustees and additional emeritus trustees selected by the board. Non-voting ex-officio members include the governor of Pennsylvania, the secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the chief executive of Allegheny County, and the mayor of Pittsburgh. There are three or more regular meetings of the Board of Trustees per year.^[102]

The Board of Trustees selects the university's chancellor, who doubles as the chief academic officer and the chief executive of the university as well as serving as an ex officio voting member of the board of trustees. The chancellor is delegated with general administrative, academic, and management authority over the university. Under the chancellor are the provost and senior vice chancellor, the senior vice chancellor for health sciences, the deans of the various schools, the presidents of the regional campuses, department chairs, and the directors of university centers and institutes.^[102] The university is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.^[3]

Discover more about Organization and administration related topics

Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences is one of the 17 schools and colleges of University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A direct descendant of the 1787-chartered Pittsburgh Academy, and the oldest part of the university, the school serves as "the liberal arts core" of the university; some 30 departments and programs provide instruction in natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences to all students at the Pittsburgh campus in Oakland. The school is the largest graduate school in the Pittsburgh area.

University of Pittsburgh College of Business Administration

University of Pittsburgh College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration (CBA) is one of the 17 schools and colleges of University of Pittsburgh located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The CBA is the second largest degree granting school or college in the university and offers undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degrees. The CBA is a constituent college of the university's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine

University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine

The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine is the dental school of the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). It is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of Pitt's six schools of the health sciences and one of several dental schools in Pennsylvania. It is closely affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The School of Dental Medicine accepted 3.6% of applicants for the class of 2016, a record low for the school's entire history.

University of Pittsburgh School of Education

University of Pittsburgh School of Education

The University of Pittsburgh School of Education consists of five academic departments: Administrative and Policy Studies, Health and Physical Activity, Instruction and Learning, Learning Sciences & Policy, and Psychology in Education. The school is primarily located in Wesley W. Posvar Hall although the school has facilities in the Petersen Events Center, Trees Hall, the Learning Research and Development Center, Falk School, and other locations. As of the 2016-2017 academic year, the student body consisted of over 1,200 students with nearly 1,000 among the over 50 graduate programs. The school is currently ranked 27th in graduate education according to U.S. News & World Report. As of 2017, over $26 million in funded research was undertaken in the school.

Swanson School of Engineering

Swanson School of Engineering

The Swanson School of Engineering is the engineering school of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846, the Swanson School of Engineering is the second or third oldest in the United States.

University of Pittsburgh College of General Studies

University of Pittsburgh College of General Studies

The College of General Studies (CGS) is one of the 17 schools within the University of Pittsburgh located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The College of General Studies offers programs of special interest to adults and non-traditional students, including baccalaureate degrees (BA/BS) and standalone certificates. The administration of the College of General Studies is overseen by the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

The University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences is an international leader in rehabilitation and disabilities education, research and community service. The School's faculty, students and alumni are dedicated to building a world free of barriers and disparities that allows all people, regardless of health, to have opportunities to participate in life to the fullest. Pitt SHRS includes some of the nation's top-ranked graduate programs including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology and audiology.

University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information

University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information

The University of Pittsburgh's School of Computing and Information is one of the 17 schools and colleges of University of Pittsburgh located on the university's main campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The school was formed in 2017 with a focus on academic programs that teach contextually situated computing in an interdisciplinary manner. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees as well as certificate programs and houses three departments: Computer Science, Informatics and Networked Systems, and Information Culture and Data Stewardship.

University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) is one of 17 schools comprising the University of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1957 to study national and international public administration, GSPIA prides itself on its "Local to Global" distinction. As of 2018, it is one of only two policy schools with programs in the top 20 for both International Relations and City Management and Urban Policy. The former mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, is a GSPIA alumnus.

University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

The School of Public Health is one of 17 schools at the University of Pittsburgh. The school, founded in 1948, was first led by Thomas Parran, surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service. It is ranked as the 13th best public health school in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, it is ranked third among public health schools for funding received from the National Institutes of Health. It was the first of only two fully accredited schools of public health in Pennsylvania. The school offers a Bachelor's of Science in Public Health (BSPH), Masters of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science (MS), Master of Health Administration, and doctoral degrees in areas such as behavioral and community health sciences, biostatistics, environmental and occupational health, epidemiology, health policy and management, human genetics, and infectious disease and microbiology.

Commonwealth System of Higher Education

Commonwealth System of Higher Education

The Commonwealth System of Higher Education is a statutory designation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that confers "state-related" status on four universities located within the state: Lincoln University, the Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, and the University of Pittsburgh. The designation establishes the schools as an "instrumentality of the commonwealth" and provides each university with annual, non-preferred financial appropriations in exchange offering tuition discounts to students who are residents of Pennsylvania and a minority state-representation on each school's board of trustees. Legally, the universities remain separate and private entities, operating under their own charters, governed by independent boards of trustees, and with assets under their own ownership and control, thereby retaining much of the freedom and individuality of private institutions, both administratively and academically. It is the only public-private hybrid system of higher education of its particular type in the United States, although some other schools, such as Cornell University, the University of Delaware, and Rutgers University, all also have public-private partnerships of their own kind.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts.

Throughout its history, Pitt has been committed to a liberal arts education with a curriculum in the arts, sciences, and humanities.^[18] Pitt also has emphasized undergraduate research experience and opportunities such as co-ops and internships.^[103] Undergraduate degrees can be earned as Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Philosophy. Along with providing certificate programs, graduate level master's, professional, and doctoral degrees are also awarded. Pitt has also initiated a university-wide Outside the Classroom Curriculum (OCC) that includes a structured series of extracurricular programs and experiences designed to complement students' academic studies and help develop personal attributes and professional skills.^[104] Students who complete the OCC requirements receive an OCC "transcript" and a green cord of distinction to wear at commencement.^[105] Pitt offers free workshops and certification programs such as a pedagogy certification badge^[106] and a semester-long public education mentorship program.^[107] Distinguished undergraduate programs are offered through the David C. Frederick Honors College.^[108]

The freshman level entry schools include the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business Administration, the Swanson School of Engineering, and the School of Nursing.

Admissions

Undergraduate

The 2022 annual ranking of U.S. News & World Report categorizes University of Pittsburgh as "more selective".^[110] For the Class of 2026 (enrolled fall 2022), Pitt received 53,062 applications and accepted 26,077 (49.1%). Of those accepted, 4,399 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 16.8%.^[109][111] Pitt's freshman retention rate is 93.4%, with 84.3% going on to graduate within six years.^[109]

The university started test-optional admissions with the Fall 2021 incoming class in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has extended this through Fall 2025. Of the 49% of enrolled freshmen in 2021 who submitted SAT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite scores were 1250-1470.^[109] Of the 16% of the incoming freshman class who submitted ACT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite score was between 28 and 33.^[109]

Pitt is a college-sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship Program and sponsored 3 Merit Scholarship awards in 2020. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 10 freshman students were National Merit Scholars.^[112]

International studies

The Indian Classroom, one of 31 Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning

The university's historic emphasis on international studies is physically present in its collection of 31 Nationality Rooms on the first and third floors of the Cathedral of Learning. Pitt is also one of the country's leading producers of both Fulbright scholars and Peace Corps volunteers,^[68][118] and one of fewer than 20 American universities to claim five or more area studies programs that have been competitively designated as National Resource Centers by the U.S. Department of Education.^[119]

Pitt's National Resource Centers include Asian, European, Latin American, Russian and East European, and Global studies,^[120] as well as Pitt's International Business Center.^[119] In addition, Pitt's Asian Studies Center has been awarded status as a Confucius Institute by the Chinese Ministry of Education.^[121][122] Further, Pitt is home to one of just ten European Union Centers of Excellence in the U.S., funded by the European Commission.^[123]

The University Center for International Studies (UCIS) coordinates international education curricula, centers on topical specializations in international studies, and the centers for area studies, including the National Resource Centers, among existing faculty and departments throughout the university. It does not confer degrees, but awards certificates of attainment to degree candidates in the university's schools and also operates certificate programs in African Studies (undergraduate) and in Global Studies (undergraduate & graduate).^[124] UCIS also operates the Study Abroad Office,^[125] Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs.^[126]

Pitt's study abroad program, under the auspices of UCIS, helps to facilitate student study in over a hundred different countries, and oversees a variety of programs including the Panther Programs, which are course taught abroad that have been developed and are accompanied by faculty of the university; two-way exchange agreements with foreign institutions; and Pitt-recognized, third-party exchange programs.^[127] The university also offers several study abroad scholarships, including those through the Nationality Rooms program.^[128] In addition, following the decision to end a 24-year sponsorship of the Semester at Sea program due to academic, administrative and safety concerns,^[129] Pitt has created a Multi-region Academic Program (PittMAP) that involves international travel, accompanied by university faculty, to three different continents for the comparative study of one of six rotating global study themes.^[130][131] Further, Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering has also established a joint engineering institute and program with Sichuan University in Chengdu,^[132] and Pitt's School of Medicine has established an exchange program for biomedical research students with Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.^[133]

Rankings

The Center for Measuring University Performance has ranked Pitt ninth in the top tier of U.S. research universities nationwide according to its 2015 annual report.^[143]

In its 2022 rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Pitt tied for 20th among public universities in the United States and tied for 59th among all national universities.^[144] Princeton Review placed Pitt among its "Best Value Public Colleges",^[145] while Kiplinger rated Pitt the best value in Pennsylvania and thirty-sixth best nationally for out-of-state students among public universities in their 2016 rankings.^[146] The 2017 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education college rankings of American universities ranked Pitt 75th overall, and the No. 1 public college in the Northeast.^[147]

In worldwide evaluations of universities, Newsweek ranked Pitt 37th in its "The Top 100 Global Universities."^[148] Pitt ranked 43rd worldwide in the 2017 Center for World University Rankings.^[149] Pitt is also ranked 90th worldwide (and 42nd in the U.S.) in the 2018 Academic Ranking of World Universities. Pitt ranked 100th globally in the 2017/18 QS World University Rankings. Pitt ranks 25th of all universities in the world for the impact and performance of its 2016 scientific public publications according to the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities produced by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT).^[150] Pitt ranks as the 42nd best higher education research institution worldwide according to SCImago Institutions Rankings' 2016 World Report.^[151]

In his 1985 book, Public Ivies: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities, Richard Moll included the University of Pittsburgh as one of the Public Ivy "worthy runners-up."^[152]

In addition to its academic rankings, Pitt has also been recognized for its positive campus atmosphere, with The Princeton Review rating Pitt as having the eighth happiest student body and the 11th best quality of life in the nation in 2010.^[153]

The 52 ft (16 m) high, half acre (2,000 m²) Commons Room of the Cathedral of Learning serves as a major study and event space for the university and its students.

Pitt's law school was ranked tied for 78th in the U.S. in 2022 by U.S. News & World Report.^[154]

The University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work's MSW program was ranked tied for 17th in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report in 2020.^[155]

Scholars

Pitt students and faculty have regularly won national and international scholarships and fellowship awards, including eight Rhodes Scholarships and ten Marshall Scholarships.^{[156][157][158]} In 2007, Pitt was one of only nine universities, and the only public university, to claim both Rhodes and Marshall Scholars. Since 1995, Pitt undergraduates have also won a total of five Truman Scholarships,^[159][156] seven Udall Scholarships, a Churchill Scholarship, a Gates Cambridge Scholarship,^[160] 43 Goldwater Scholarships,^[161] 23 Boren Scholarships,^[162] and three Mellon Humanities Fellowships.^[163][164]

Pitt is also a leading producer of Fulbright scholars, placing in the top 20 among all universities for total number of student Fulbright scholars.^[165]

Pitt alumni have won awards such as the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Prize in medicine, the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the Shaw Prize in medicine, the Albany Prize in medicine, the Fritz Medal in engineering, the Templeton Prize, and the Grainger Challenge Prize for sustainability.^[68][166]

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Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences is one of the 17 schools and colleges of University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A direct descendant of the 1787-chartered Pittsburgh Academy, and the oldest part of the university, the school serves as "the liberal arts core" of the university; some 30 departments and programs provide instruction in natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences to all students at the Pittsburgh campus in Oakland. The school is the largest graduate school in the Pittsburgh area.

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) is an American media company that publishes news, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis. It was launched in 1948 as the merger of domestic-focused weekly newspaper U.S. News and international-focused weekly magazine World Report. In 1995, the company launched 'usnews.com' and in 2010, the magazine ceased printing.

SAT

SAT

The SAT is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and had two components, Verbal and Mathematical, each of which was scored on a range from 200 to 800. Later it was called the Scholastic Assessment Test, then the SAT I: Reasoning Test, then the SAT Reasoning Test, then simply the SAT.

ACT (test)

ACT (test)

The ACT is a standardized test used for college admissions in the United States. It is currently administered by ACT, a nonprofit organization of the same name. The ACT test covers four academic skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and scientific reasoning. It also offers an optional direct writing test. It is accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the United States as well as more than 225 universities outside of the U.S.

Nationality Rooms

Nationality Rooms

The Nationality Rooms are a group of 31 classrooms in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning depicting and donated by the national and ethnic groups that helped build the city of Pittsburgh. The rooms are designated as a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation historical landmark and are located on the 1st and 3rd floors of the Cathedral of Learning, itself a national historic landmark, on the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Although of museum caliber, 29 of the 31 rooms are used as daily classrooms by University of Pittsburgh faculty and students, while the other two are display rooms viewed through glass doors, utilized primarily for special events, and can only be explored via special guided tour. The Nationality Rooms also serve in a vigorous program of intercultural involvement and exchange in which the original organizing committees for the rooms remain as participants and which includes a program of annual student scholarship to facilitate study abroad. In addition, the Nationality Rooms inspire lectures, seminars, concerts exhibitions, and social events which focus on the various heritages and traditions of the nations represented. The national, traditional, and religious holidays of the nations represented are celebrated on campus and the rooms are appropriately decorated to reflect these occasions. The Nationality Rooms are available daily for public tours as long as the particular room is not being used for a class or other university function.

Cathedral of Learning

Cathedral of Learning

The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story skyscraper that serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Standing at 535 feet (163 m), the 42-story Late Gothic Revival Cathedral is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere and the second-tallest university building in the world, after the main building of Moscow State University. It is also the second-tallest gothic-styled building in the world, after the Woolworth Building in Manhattan. The Cathedral of Learning was commissioned in 1921 and ground was broken in 1926 under general contractor Stone & Webster. The first class was held in the building in 1931 and its exterior finished in October 1934, prior to its formal dedication in June 1937. It is a Pittsburgh landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Confucius Institute

Confucius Institute

Confucius Institutes are public educational and cultural promotion programs funded and arranged currently by the Chinese International Education Foundation, a government-organized non-governmental organization (GONGO) under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. The Confucius Institute program was formerly under Hanban, an organization affiliated with the Chinese government. The stated aim of the program is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges.

European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission (EC) is part of the executive of the European Union (EU), together with the European Council. It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission headed by a President. It includes an administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants. The Commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries each headed by a Director-General who is responsible to a Commissioner.

Semester at Sea

Semester at Sea

Semester at Sea (SaS) is a study-abroad program which was founded in 1963 and managed by the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) in Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado State University is the current academic sponsor and the program is conducted on a cruise ship. Nearly 73,000 undergraduate students from over 1,500 colleges and universities have participated in Semester at Sea.

Swanson School of Engineering

Swanson School of Engineering

The Swanson School of Engineering is the engineering school of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846, the Swanson School of Engineering is the second or third oldest in the United States.

Sichuan University

Sichuan University

Sichuan University (SCU) is a national key public research university in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The university is wholly funded by the Ministry of Education.

Chengdu

Chengdu

Chengdu, alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a population of 20,937,757 inhabitants during the 2020 Chinese census, it is the fourth most populous city in China, and it is the only city apart from the four direct-administered municipalities with a population of over 20 million. It is traditionally the hub in Southwest China.

Salk Hall, where Jonas Salk's team performed the research that led to the first polio vaccine, is also the home of the School of Dental Medicine and School of Pharmacy.

Pitt is a member of the Association of American Universities and had $1.0 billion in research and development expenditures in 2011, ranking 14th among all universities in the United States.^[167] Pitt ranked in the top 25 of all universities in the world for the impact and performance of its scientific public publications, including in the top ten for clinical medicine, according to the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities produced by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan.^[150] Pitt is also ranked 29th in the world based on Essential Science Indicators according to the Research Center for Chinese Science Evaluation of Wuhan University.^[168] Pitt places much emphasis on undergraduate research and has integrated such research experience as a key component of its undergraduate experience.^[103]

Pitt is a major center of biomedical research; in FY 2013, it ranked sixth in the nation in competitive peer-reviewed NIH funding allocations,^[169] and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center ranked tenth among hospitals nationwide by USNews in 2013.^[170]

Pitt neighbors the campus of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and in some cases, buildings of the two universities are intermingled. This helps to facilitate a myriad of academic and research collaborations between the two schools,^[171] including such projects as the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, the Immune Modeling Center, the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, as well as the National Science Foundation-supported Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center.^[172][173] Further, the universities also offer multiple dual and joint degree programs such as the Medical Scientist Training Program, the Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology Graduate Program, and the Law and Business Administration program. Some professors hold joint professorships between the two schools, and students at each university may take classes at the other (with appropriate approvals).^[174] Pitt students and faculty also have access to the CMU library system, as well as the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, through the Oakland Library Consortium.^[175] The two universities also co-host academic conferences, such as the 2012 Second Language Research Forum.^[176]

Discover more about Research related topics

Salk Hall

Salk Hall

Jonas Salk Hall at the University of Pittsburgh is a Pennsylvania state and Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark. The Art Deco building is named after Jonas Salk, who conducted his research on the first polio vaccine in a basement laboratory while on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh.

Jonas Salk

Jonas Salk

Jonas Edward Salk was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New York and New York University School of Medicine.

Polio vaccine

Polio vaccine

Polio vaccines are vaccines used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio). Two types are used: an inactivated poliovirus given by injection (IPV) and a weakened poliovirus given by mouth (OPV). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends all children be fully vaccinated against polio. The two vaccines have eliminated polio from most of the world, and reduced the number of cases reported each year from an estimated 350,000 in 1988 to 33 in 2018.

University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine

University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine

The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine is the dental school of the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). It is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of Pitt's six schools of the health sciences and one of several dental schools in Pennsylvania. It is closely affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The School of Dental Medicine accepted 3.6% of applicants for the class of 2016, a record low for the school's entire history.

University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy

University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy

The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy is the graduate pharmacy school of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1878, it offers Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, as well as a residency training program. The school is one of the university's six schools of the health sciences and is ranked in the top 10 of pharmacy schools according to U.S. News & World Report.

Association of American Universities

Association of American Universities

The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States and two universities in Canada—the University of Toronto and McGill University. AAU membership is by invitation only and requires an affirmative vote of three-quarters of current members.

Wuhan University

Wuhan University

Wuhan University is a public research university in Wuhan, Hubei. The university is affiliated with and sponsored by the Ministry of Education of China.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is an American integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and doctors' offices, a 3.8 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and international ventures. It is closely affiliated with its academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh. It is considered a leading American health care provider, as its flagship facilities have ranked in U.S. News & World Report "Honor Roll" of the approximately 15 to 20 best hospitals in America for over 15 years. As of 2016, its flagship hospital UPMC Presbyterian is ranked 12th nationally among the best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report and ranked in 15 of 16 specialty areas when including UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. This does not include UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh which ranked in the top 10 of pediatric centers in a separate US News ranking.

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The institution was originally established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology and began granting four-year degrees. In 1967, it became the current-day Carnegie Mellon University through its merger with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, founded in 1913 by Andrew Mellon and Richard B. Mellon and formerly a part of the University of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center

Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center

The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) is a high performance computing and networking center founded in 1986 and one of the original five NSF Supercomputing Centers. PSC is a joint effort of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse

Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse

Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG) is an investment firm based in the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that provides resources and tools to entrepreneurial life sciences enterprises in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania in order to advance research and patient care.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the public library system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its main branch is located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and it has 19 branch locations throughout the city. Like hundreds of other Carnegie libraries, the construction of the main library, which opened in 1895, and several neighborhood branches, was funded by industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The Pittsburgh area houses the first branches in the United States.

Housing

Litchfield Towers, Pitt's largest and tallest residence hall

Undergraduate student housing comprises both traditional residence halls and apartment style housing. On the lower campus, the three cylindrical towers of the Litchfield Towers complex houses the most students on campus and contains the primary dining facility for the university. The Schenley Quadrangle, originally serving as one of city's most desirably luxury apartment complexes, comprises five separate residence halls: Amos, Brackenridge, Bruce, Holland, and McCormick. Bruce Hall houses many Honors College and Living and Learning Community (LLC) students, Holland Hall formerly served as an all female residence, and Amos Hall serves as the primary home of the university's sororities with each floor being occupied by a different Greek organization. Ruskin Hall is located near Clapp Hall and the biological complex. Completed in 2013, Nordenberg Hall is the newest residence hall houses freshmen. Forbes Hall, located on Forbes Avenue, houses mainly freshmen involved in LLCs (Living Learning Communities). Lothrop Hall, originally built as a nursing student residence, houses students on the medical center complex. Bouquet Gardens offers garden style apartments mostly to upperclassmen. The Forbes Craig Apartments serve as the primary residence for Honors College students.

Sutherland Hall on the upper campus is named for legendary Pitt football coach Jock Sutherland.

The upper campus houses Sutherland Hall, home of several Living Learning Communities, as well as Panther Hall and Irvis Hall, which mainly house upperclassmen. Various fraternity housing is also found on the upper campus, as well as the Darragh Street Apartments which house medical students within a short walk to medical school's Scaife Hall.

Many students, especially upperclassmen, also choose to live off campus in the nearby South Oakland neighborhood in both university and non-university owned apartments.

Traditions

Rock band Walk the Moon performs at Fall Fest 2015

Several traditions have become part of student life at Pitt over the years. One of the oldest traditions is "Lantern Night", an annual ceremony that serves as a formal induction for freshman women to university life.^[98][65] The tradition of sliding or stepping on the former home plate of Forbes Field embedded in the floor of Posvar Hall is performed by students in search of some good luck.^{[178][179][180][181]} Another good luck tradition involves rubbing the nose of the Millennium Panther outside the William Pitt Union prior to exams.^[182] Originated by students seeking good luck on exams, this tradition has further grown into one that is used by the wider university community when seeking general good fortune, particularly prior to football games or other athletic contests, and was featured in a national television advertisement for the 2012 Hyundai Tucson automobile.^[183] A romantic tradition involves the legend stating that if lovers kiss on the steps of Heinz Memorial Chapel, they are then destined to be married there.^[184] Perhaps the most prestigious tradition involves the Omicron Delta Kappa Walk, a stone walkway between the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Chapel that contains the engraved names of Pitt's Omicron Delta Kappa Senior of the Year award winners.^[185]

Annual traditional events include "Fall Fest",^[19] and in the spring, "Bigelow Bash". These festivals are held by the Pitt Program Council between the William Pitt Union and the Cathedral of Learning and involve a range of activities, novelties, and bands.^[186] Related to graduation, there is Honors Convocation, where awards and recognition are bestowed upon students, faculty, alumni, and staff throughout the schools and departments of the university.^[54] Also, the "Panther Sendoff" is a free annual reception typically held in Alumni Hall to congratulate each year's graduating class and wish them well.^[187] A free event open to the public, the Nationality Rooms Open House occurs on a Sunday in early December each year in the Cathedral of Learning and involves the presentation of the rooms decorated in traditional holiday styles, day-long performances of dance and song by various ethnic groups, and food and crafts from many of the nationality room's committees.^[188]

Varsity Walk

Traditions related to athletics include the "Victory Lights", where golden flood lights illuminate the top of the Cathedral of Learning after every football victory and select other athletic achievements.^{[189][190][191]} The Annual Bonfire and Pep Rally which is hosted by the Pitt Program Council and is held prior to a select football game. Held on the lawn of the Cathedral of Learning, it often involves the band, cheerleaders, football team, visiting dignitaries, and giveaways.^[189][192] Homecoming, which revolves around another home football game each year, includes a traditional fireworks and a laser-light display between the William Pitt Union and the Cathedral of Learning.^[193] This is followed by Casino Night in the union, the football game, and a homecoming cruise on a Gateway Clipper Party Liner.^{[194][195][196]} At football games, the "Football Tunnel" occurs where student organizations, carrying standards, form a tunnel for the football players to run through as they enter the football field from the locker room;^[197] The Varsity Walk, a walkway between the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Memorial Chapel, is carved each year the names of former Pitt athletes (each year since 1950) who have promoted the university through their athletic (Panther Award) or academic (Blue-Gold Award) achievements.^[198]

"Greek Week" is a yearlong initiative for the Greek organizations on campus to raise money for different charitable organizations through different events. The two biggest events each year are the Pitt Dance Marathon and Greek Sing. Yearlong fundraising activities are also held to support such charitable organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House, Make a Wish Foundation, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and the Pittsburgh Food Bank.^[199] "E-Week" is a spring celebration organized by the Engineer Student Council for a week-long series of activities and competitions to demonstrate engineering skills and foster a spirit of camaraderie. Activities include games such as Monopoly, Ingenuity, Jeopardy, Assassins, and include a talent show, relay race, mini-Olympics, and blood drive. The festivities reach climax with a parade on Friday, a soapbox derby on Saturday, and the "e-ball finale" on Saturday evening. Each year, a unique theme is chosen. Each engineering department competes against the others, while some smaller departments join forces.^[200][201]

Pitt Arts

Pitt's Stephen Foster Memorial contains two theaters

Pitt Arts is a program founded by the university in 1997 to encourage students to explore and connect to the art and cultural opportunities of the City of Pittsburgh via three programs. Art Encounters provides trips to arts events for undergrads that include free tickets, transportation, a catered reception, and encounters with international artists and thinkers. Free Visits grants undergrad and grad students free admission using their Pitt IDs to the Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Senator John Heinz History Center, Phipps Conservatory, Mattress Factory, and the Andy Warhol Museum.^[202][203]

Student theater

Various student theater groups convene at Pitt. University of Pittsburgh Stages is the production company of the Department of Theatre Arts which puts public student performances of classic masterpieces, contemporary productions, and student-directed labs. It also runs the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools which tours classic theater for K-12 students throughout the Pittsburgh area.^[204] Friday Nite Improvs, Pittsburgh's longest-running theatre show, was started in 1989 by graduate theatre students. It takes place weekly inside the Cathedral of Learning's studio theatre.^[205] The Redeye Theatre Project is a festival of one-act plays cast, written, and rehearsed in 24 hours.^[206] Pitt Musical Theater Club provides undergraduates the opportunity to perform in student-directed variety shows and musicals. The club was founded in 2009.^[207]

Student music

The Music Building once served as home to the original studio for Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

The University of Pittsburgh has three University recognized choirs, in founding order they are listed below:

The Pitt Men's Glee Club, founded in 1890, is the oldest extracurricular club on campus.^[208] The club includes both undergraduate and graduate students from throughout the university. Traditionally, the Glee Club has sung for a variety of campus-wide and community functions, including graduations, receptions, alumni gatherings, sporting events, and chancellor's events. The Glee Club has also participated in national Collegiate Men's Choir festivals and international tours and music festivals in both the United States and Europe.^[208]

The University of Pittsburgh Women's Choral Ensemble, founded in 1927,^[209] is open to all women of the university including undergraduates, graduate students, and staff. The ensemble leads the traditional lamplighter processional each fall and performs repertory ranging from traditional sacred and secular classics to international folk songs, popular music, and show tunes.^[210]

Heinz Chapel Choir is an accomplished and internationally known^[211] a cappella choir consisting entirely of Pitt students that has been performing for over 70 years.^[212]

Pitt A Cappella Groups

Pitt Pendulums, founded in 1996, is a co-ed a cappella group, the oldest a cappella group on campus. Other a cappella groups on campus include C Flat Run, a co-ed group; Pittch Please, an all-male group; Pitches and Tones, a co-ed group; The Songburghs, a co-ed group; and Sounds Like Treble, an all-female group. All groups on campus regularly perform in various on and off-campus functions and are regular competitors in the ICCA's, the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. Most recently, The Songburghs won first place at the ICCA Central Quarterfinal on February 2, 2019. They also went on to place third at the next round, the ICCA Central Semifinal at the University at Buffalo on March 30, 2019.^[213][214] Carpathian Ensemble, founded within the Department of Music in 1786, performs Gypsy, Klezmer, Armenian, Moldavian, Ukrainian, and Macedonian music.^[215] The University Gamelan, established in 1995, is the largest Sundanese gamelan program in the U.S. and has sponsored an artist-in-residency program each year since 1998.^[216]

The University of Pittsburgh Orchestra performs several concerts and consists of music students, students from the university at large, faculty, staff, and members of the metropolitan community. The orchestra performs not only works of the standard art music literature, but also new works of student composers.^[217] Pitt Jazz Ensemble, founded in 1969 by saxophonist Dr. Davis, has performed internationally.^[218] Pitt African Music and Dance Ensemble, founded in 1983 by a Ghanaian ethnomusicologist Dr. Willie O. Anku, specializes in music and dances from Africa. Under the direction of J. S. Kofi Gbolonyo, it presents a range of African artistic expressions including music, dance, drama and visual arts.^[219] Pitt Band, founded in 1911, is the varsity marching band of the University of Pittsburgh and performs at various athletic and other University events.^[220]

Student media

• WPTS-FM is a non-commercial radio station owned by the University of Pittsburgh, and offers a mix of student-run programming. The station operates at 92.1 MHz with an ERP of 16 watts, and is licensed to Pittsburgh.^[221]
• JURIST is the world's only law-school-based, comprehensive, legal news and research service staffed by a mostly volunteer team of part-time law student reporters, editors and Web developers. It is led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.^[222]
• The Pitt News is an independent, student-written, and student-managed newspaper for the university's Oakland (main) campus. Founded in 1908, it is now published Monday through Friday during the school year and Wednesdays during the summer. It circulates 14,000 copies for each issue published.^[223]

Student media and other organizations are largely headquartered within the William Pitt Union, seen here with the Millennium Panther.

• The Pittiful News is an independent, student-founded, student-written, student-managed, and student-produced satirical and humor newspaper. It comes out on during the school year in print and throughout the entire calendar year online.^[224]
• UPTV (University of Pittsburgh Television) is a student-managed, student-produced, closed-circuit television station. Students living in campus residence halls or university operated-housing can view programming on Channel 21.^[225]
• Three Rivers Review and Collision are undergraduate, bi-annual, literary journals publishing both poetry and prose.^[226]
• The Pittsburgh Undergraduate Review is a multidisciplinary journal showcasing undergraduate research.,^[227]
  

  Pitt Tonight earned the university its first College Emmy nominations in 2016.
• Pitt Political Review is a student-created, student-written publication of the University Honors College. PPR, as it is called, provides a venue for serious discussion of politics and policy issues in a nonpartisan way.^[228]
• Blackline is a student-created, student-written publication of the Black Action Society. Blackline features both news articles and creative pieces such as poetry to call attention to problems, programs, and activities that affect Black students at Pitt.^[229]
• The Original Magazine is a nonprofit, semiannual arts and culture publication based at, and partially funded by, the University of Pittsburgh, that aims to both bring and publicize accessible art and creative writing to Pittsburgh.^[230]
• The Pitt Maverick is an independent paper founded by conservative students.^[231]
• Pitt Tonight is an American college late-night talk show on the University of Pittsburgh campus.^[232] The show premiered on December 14, 2015, and is produced entirely by students. It is the first large-scale late night production on the school's campus – consisting of more than 70 staff members – with its creator Jesse Irwin serving as the first host.^[233][234] The program is taped once per month in front of a live studio audience. The show has been nominated for two Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards,^[235][236] and won one College Broadcasters Inc. award for Best General Entertainment Program.

Student organizations

There are over 350 student clubs and organizations at the University of Pittsburgh.^[237] Some of the organizations are:

• Black Action Society is the recognized student organization for promoting the cultural, educational, political, and social needs of black students at the university. It comprises nine committees including the publication of the student-run publication BlackLine as well as community outreach, political action, and programing.^[238] BAS has hosted lectures by such figures as Cornel West,^[239] Spike Lee,^[240] and Carol Moseley Braun.^[241]
• Blue and Gold Society, founded in 1991, is a group of undergraduate student leaders chosen as liaisons between the student community and the Pitt Alumni Association.^[242]
• Catholic Newman Club, founded in 1915, is the third oldest existing student organization on campus.^[243] The club works in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Oratory of Saint Philip Neri – which offers daily mass and confession times as well as perpetual Eucharistic adoration^[244] – and the Fellowship of Catholic University Students to provide events that offer students a deeper look into the Catholic faith. Students often engage in service opportunities with various charitable organizations.
• Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG) is the student government that represents the interests of all graduate and professional students and serves as the umbrella organization for all of the graduate/professional school student governments. GPSG's mission is to ensure that the concerns of these students are heard and also provides services and programs such travel grants, legal and financial consulting, and social functions.^[245]
• Hillel is a pluralistic Jewish community that serves all Pitt undergraduates. Programs take place on campus and at the Hillel Jewish University Center at 4607 Forbes Avenue. Events include holiday, interfaith, Jewish education, social action, arts and cultural programming as well as no-fee weekly Shabbat services and dinner every Friday night.^[246]

The Oakland Zoo, Pitt basketball's student cheering club

• Oakland Zoo, the student athletic cheering section, is an officially recognized student club. At over 2,000 members, it is the largest such group at the university. The group helps participate with the Athletic Department and Pitt Student Government Board in setting student ticket policy as well as organizing special student events.^[247]
• The Pitt Pathfinders, student recruiters employed by the Office of Admissions of Financial Aid. They recruit prospective students by giving campus tours, attending on-and-off campus recruitment programs, and by contacting admitted students through phone and the Internet. While Pathfinder is a paid position, it is also a student organization.^[248]
• Pitt Program Council is the all-campus programming organization at the university. Comprising eight student committees, a variety of programs and festivities are planned and sponsored including Fall Fest, Bigelow Bash, Homecoming Laser and Fireworks Show, as well as trips to New York City, Cedar Point, Spring break in Panama City Beach, FL. Other activities include art gallery exhibits, films, horseback riding, sports tournaments, lectures, fitness and dance classes, and Black and White Ball.^[249]
• Student Government Board (SGB) is the governing body that provides undergraduate students with representation to the university administration, presenting their needs, interests, and concerns. An important aspect of the SGB is allocation of a portion of the student activities fee, which provides money to over 500 student organizations at the University of Pittsburgh. SGB has three standing committees, 6 conditional committees, and one internal committee that address various aspects of campus life, including diversity, first-year involvement, wellness, and governmental relations.^[250][251]
• Quo Vadis is a student organization that conducts guided tours and interpretations of the Cathedral of Learning's 31 Nationality Rooms.^[252]
• Rainbow Alliance is a student advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied students. Among other activities, the group holds an annual drag show to raise money for Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force.^[253]
• University of Pittsburgh Mock Trial is a yearlong extracurricular activity open to Pitt undergraduates that provides an opportunity to practice litigation through a series of team-based mock trial competitions. Pitt Mock Trial has qualified for American Mock Trial Association post-season tournaments each of the last six years, finishing in the fifth overall place at the 2008 National Championship Tournament.^[254][255]
• William Pitt Debating Union is a co-curricular program and hub for a wide range of debating activities, including intercollegiate policy debate, public debate, and debate outreach. The program was 1981 National Debate Tournament champions,^[256] has qualified for the National Debate Tournament 40 times,^[257] and is one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the nation, growing from the university's Division of Public Speaking in 1912.^[258]
  

  Hillman Library

Greek life

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Asian Americans

Asian Americans

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry. Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peoples of the continent of Asia, the usage of the term "Asian" by the United States Census Bureau only includes people with origins or ancestry from the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent and excludes people with ethnic origins in certain parts of Asia, including West Asia who are now categorized as Middle Eastern Americans. The "Asian" census category includes people who indicate their race(s) on the census as "Asian" or reported entries such as "Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani, Malaysian, and Other Asian". In 2020, Americans who identified as Asian alone (19,886,049) or in combination with other races (4,114,949) made up 7.2% of the U.S. population.

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino regardless of ancestry. As of 2020, the Census Bureau estimated that there were almost 65.3 million Hispanics and Latinos living in the United States and its territories.

African Americans

African Americans

African Americans are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from any of the black racial groups of Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslaved Africans who are from the United States.

Foreign national

Foreign national

A foreign national is any person who is not a national of a specific country. For example, in the United States and in its territories, a foreign national is something or someone who is neither a citizen nor a national of the United States. The same applies in Canada.

Economic diversity

Economic diversity

Economic diversity or economic diversification refers to variations in the economic status or the use of a broad range of economic activities in a region or country. Diversification is used as a strategy to encourage positive economic growth and development. Research shows that more diversified economies are associated with higher levels of gross domestic product.

American lower class

American lower class

In the United States, the lower class are those at or near the lower end of the socio-economic hierarchy. As with all social classes in the United States, the lower class is loosely defined and its boundaries and definitions subject to debate and ambiguous popular opinions. Sociologists such as W. Lloyd Warner, Dennis Gilbert and James Henslin divide the lower classes into two. The contemporary division used by Gilbert divides the lower class into the working poor and underclass. Service and low-rung manual laborers are commonly identified as being among the working poor. Those who do not participate in the labor force and rely on public assistance as their main source of income are commonly identified as members of the underclass. Overall the term describes those in easily filled employment positions with little prestige or economic compensation who often lack a high school education and are to some extent disenfranchised from mainstream society.

Affluence in the United States

Affluence in the United States

Affluence refers to an individual's or household's economical and financial advantage in comparison to others. It may be assessed through either income or wealth.

Clapp Hall

Clapp Hall

George Hubbard Clapp Hall is a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The six-story Gothic Revival structure, designed by Trautwein & Howard, was completed in 1956 and serves as the primary facility of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biological Sciences. It contains laboratories, classrooms, a greenhouse, and an amphitheater-style lecture hall with 404 seats.

Clapp/Langley/Crawford Complex

Clapp/Langley/Crawford Complex

The Clapp-Langley-Crawford halls complex, comprises three inter-connected buildings and the Life Science Annex that house the Department of Biological Science and the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

Forbes Hall

Forbes Hall

Forbes Hall is a residence hall of the University of Pittsburgh and is located in Forbes Pavilion on Forbes Avenue approximately four blocks from the Litchfield Towers complex. The name Forbes Hall, which specifically refers to the residence hall component of the building, is sometimes interchangeably used with the name Forbes Pavilion, which refers to the entire six-story structure.

Bouquet Gardens

Bouquet Gardens

Bouquet Gardens is a major student residential complex of the University of Pittsburgh consisting of eight, 4-story garden-style gabled-roofed apartment buildings clustered around progression of courtyards connected by an interior pathway as well as a four-story apartment-style residence hall. Each gabled-roofed apartment-style building contains sixteen 4-bedroom apartments while the 155 bed Building J contains amenities for use by residents of the entire complex. Designed by Renaissance 3 Architects, P.C., the combined complex houses 651 upper-level undergraduate students in 172 units located on the lower campus close to Posvar Hall, the Barco Law Building, and adjacent to Sennott Square.

Jock Sutherland

Jock Sutherland

John Bain Sutherland was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1940–1941) and Pittsburgh Steelers (1946–1947). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.

Cheering on the Pitt football team has traditionally been one of the most celebrated activities at the university, as depicted in this cover art from a 1915 game program.

The University of Pittsburgh's athletic teams, referred to as the "Pittsburgh Panthers" or "Pitt Panthers," include 19 university-sponsored varsity teams at the highest level of competitive collegiate athletics in the United States: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)).^[259]

Varsity men's sports sponsored by the university are baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and wrestling; while sponsored women's varsity sports include basketball, cross country, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and volleyball.^[260] All varsity sports teams compete as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the 2013–14 season, with the exception of the gymnastics team competing in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL).^[261] The university also maintains membership in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).^[262]

Scholastically, during 2012 calendar year, out of approximately 450 Pitt varsity student athletes, 350 had term grade point averages exceeding 3.0, including 16 that had a perfect average of 4.0, and 174 were named Big East Conference Academic All-Stars or placed on the all-academic Big East football team.^[263]

There are also approximately 28 additional athletic teams that compete at the non-varsity club sports level.^[264]

Pitt's highest-profile athletic programs, football and men's basketball, are consistently competitive. Pitt has been regularly ranked as having one of the best combinations of football and basketball programs by multiple sports media outlets,^[265][266] including CBS Sports,^[267] ESPN,^[268] and Sports Illustrated.^[269]

In the fall of 1909, the University of Pittsburgh was the first college or university to adopt the panther (Puma concolor) as its mascot.^[25] Popular as photo sites, there are ten representations of Panthers in and about Pitt's campus, and ten more painted fiberglass panthers placed around the campus by the Pitt Student Government. These fiberglass panther structures are given to a campus group for a year and painted by the group to reflect their interests.^[270] The oldest representations are four panthers that guard each corner of the Panther Hollow bridge.^[271] Other Oakland locations include both inside and in front of the William Pitt Union,^[272][273] outside the Petersen Events Center,^[274] "Pitt the Panther" on the carousel in Schenley Plaza,^[275] the Panther head fountain on the front of the Cathedral of Learning, and the Pitt Panther statue outside Acrisure Stadium on Pittsburgh's North Side.^[276]

Football

Pitt Football playing Notre Dame at Acrisure Stadium in 2015

Traditionally the most popular sport at the University of Pittsburgh, football has been played at the highest levels at the university since 1890. During the more than 100 years of competitive football at Pitt, the university has helped pioneer the sport by, among other things, instituting the use of numbers on jerseys^[277] and desegregating the Sugar Bowl with Bobby Grier. Some of college football's all-time greatest coaches and players have plied their trade at Pitt, including Pop Warner, Jock Sutherland, Marshall Goldberg, Joe Schmidt, Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett, Hugh Green, Mark May, Dan Marino, Bill Fralic, Curtis Martin, Darrelle Revis, Russ Grimm, LeSean McCoy and Larry Fitzgerald. Among the top schools in terms of all-time wins, Pitt teams have claimed nine National Championships^[278] and boast 88 players that have been chosen as first-team All-Americans.^[279] Since 2015, the head coach of the football team has been Pat Narduzzi.

Basketball

Pitt basketball in the Petersen Events Center

Pitt first sponsored varsity men's basketball in 1905 and became an early national power after winning two Helms Foundation National Championships in 1927–28 and 1929–30. Those teams, coached by the innovative and legendary Naismith Hall of Fame inductee "Doc" Carlson, were led by National Player of the Year and Hall of Famer Charlie Hyatt. Following a Final Four appearance in 1941, Pitt appeared in a handful of NCAA tournaments throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, including an Elite Eight appearance in 1974 led by All-American Billy Knight. Pitt joined the Big East Conference in 1982, and by the end of the decade had secured a pair of Big East regular season championships led by All-Americans Charles Smith and Jerome Lane. In the 2000s (decade), led by coach Jamie Dixon, an era of consistent national and conference competitiveness has been achieved, including reaching the number one ranking in various national polls. Since 2002, Pitt has appeared in eleven NCAA tournaments advancing to five Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight. During this time, prior to joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013, Pitt and has won three Big East regular season championships, two Big East Tournament Championships, and has advanced to six Big East Tournament Championship games.^[280]

The Pittsburgh Panthers women's varsity basketball program started during the 1914–1915 school year and lasted until 1927 before going on hiatus until 1970. Pitt's women's team has posted several NCAA, NWIT, and EAIAW tournament appearances. Led head coach Agnus Berenato, Pitt has played in post-season tournaments each of the last five seasons, including three NCAA Tournaments appearances where it advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2008 and 2009.^[281] The head coach of the men's basketball team is Jeff Capel.

Olympic sports

The "Pitt script " logo is the primary logo of the university's athletics department. Since 1939, Pitt has used stylized versions of the signature of the City of Pittsburgh's namesake, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, as logos in various capacities.^[282]

Pitt has a long history of success in other intercollegiate athletic events. In Track and Field, Pitt has produced several Olympic and NCAA champions such as 800 m Olympic gold medalist John Woodruff, two-time 110 m hurdle Olympic gold medalist Roger Kingdom, and seven-time NCAA champion and 2005 World Champion triple jumper Trecia-Kaye Smith.^[283] The wrestling program has a rich history and is among the leaders in producing individual national champions with 16.^[284] Pitt's women's volleyball team, one of the winningest program in the nation,^[285] won 11 conference championships while a member of the Big East, and appeared in 11 NCAA tournaments since the program began in 1974.^[286] Pitt's swimming and diving teams have produced several Olympians and won 19 men's and nine women's Big East Championships while a member of that conference. Pitt women's gymnastics is a regular qualifier for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship.^[287] Baseball, Pitt's oldest varsity sport, has produced several major league players and has reached the national 25 repeatedly, including in 2013.^[288] Other varsity sports have also competed at national and conference championships and include cross country, soccer, softball, and tennis.^[260][289]

Support groups

The University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band was founded in 1911 and performs at athletic and other events. The Pitt Cheerleading squad has won multiple cheerleading national championships, including three straight from 1992 to 1994. The Pitt dance team also has been competitive in national competitions.^[290][291]

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Pittsburgh Panthers

Pittsburgh Panthers

The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, faculty, and students. Pitt fields 19 university-sponsored varsity teams at the highest level of competitive collegiate athletics in the United States: the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for American football.

Pittsburgh Panthers football

Pittsburgh Panthers football

The Pittsburgh Panthers football program is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football competition, now termed the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, since the beginning of the school's official sponsorship of the sport in 1890. Pitt competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and universities in the United States and Canada and helps over 500,000 college student athletes who compete annually in college sports. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Pittsburgh Panthers baseball

Pittsburgh Panthers baseball

The Pittsburgh Panthers baseball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate baseball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt baseball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays their home games at Charles L. Cost Field in the Petersen Sports Complex. It is the university's oldest recorded sport, dating to 1869. Prior to joining the ACC in 2013-14, Pitt had won both the Big East Conference regular season and Big East Tournament championships. The Panthers have also received four First Team All-American selections, and have appeared in three NCAA championships. 52 Panthers have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.

Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball

Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball

The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's basketball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games in the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers were retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion twice by the Helms Athletic Foundation and once by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Pitt has reached one Final Four, received 15 First Team All-American selections, appeared in 27 NCAA tournaments through the 2022–23 season, and has recorded 1,674 victories against 1,232 losses since their inaugural season of 1905–06.

Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer

Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer

Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's soccer team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's soccer competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field in the university's Petersen Sports Complex. Pitt soccer players have had eight selections as All-Americans and multiple former Panthers have gone on to play professionally. The Panthers have appeared in six NCAA tournaments and have reached the College Cup twice. The Panthers have been coached by Jay Vidovich since 2015.

Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball

Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball

Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt women's basketball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays their home games in the Petersen Events Center. The university first sponsored women's basketball on the varsity level in 1914 and have appeared in five straight national post-season tournaments between 2006 and 2010.

Pittsburgh Panthers softball

Pittsburgh Panthers softball

Pittsburgh Panthers softball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate softball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt softball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays their home games at Vartabedian Field in the Petersen Sports Complex.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I. ACC football teams compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-five sports with many of its member institutions held in high regard nationally. Current members of the conference are Boston College, Clemson University, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida State University, North Carolina State University, Syracuse University, the University of Louisville, the University of Miami, the University of North Carolina, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Wake Forest University.

East Atlantic Gymnastics League

East Atlantic Gymnastics League

The East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) is a collegiate women's gymnastics conference competing at the NCAA Division I level. The league comprises eight universities.

Eastern College Athletic Conference

Eastern College Athletic Conference

The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports. It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to South Carolina and west to Missouri. Most or all members belong to at least one other athletic conference.

Big East Conference (1979–2013)

Big East Conference (1979–2013)

The Big East Conference was a collegiate athletics conference that consisted of as many as 16 universities in the eastern half of the United States from 1979 to 2013. The conference's members participated in 24 NCAA sports. The conference had a history of success at the national level in basketball throughout its history, while its shorter football program, created by inviting one college and four other "associate members" into the conference, resulted in two national championships.

Faculty

Alumni Hall, home to the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, and Alumni Relations

University faculty have been pioneers in such fields as virology (Jonas Salk), astronomy (John Brashear), aviation (Samuel Pierpont Langley), and psychology (Benjamin Spock). The university has been home to faculty members deemed the "fathers" of various fields, such as the "father of radio broadcasting" (Reginald Fessenden), the "father of project management" (David I. Cleland), the "father of CPR" (Peter Safar), and the "father of organ transplantation" (Thomas Starzl).

The university is also notable for its faculty in philosophy. The university is the namesake of the Pittsburgh School, which was founded by Wilfrid Sellars, a significant figure in analytic philosophy. Current notable faculty in the philosophy department include John McDowell, Robert Brandom, and Nicholas Rescher.

There have been 31 university heads for the University of Pittsburgh. Beginning in the institution's academy days, the head of the school was referred to as Principal, a title that was retained until 1872 when it was changed to Chancellor by an alteration to the university's charter. This title of Chancellor has lasted except for a brief change during Wesley Posvar's administration when it was transiently switched to president.^[292]

Alumni

As of 2019, the University of Pittsburgh has over 330,000 living alumni^[293] who are supported by the Pitt Alumni Association, founded in 1866,^[294] and over 50 regionally-based Pitt Clubs located throughout the world.^[295]

Three Pitt alumni have been awarded the Nobel Prize: Paul Lauterbur '62 for his work in magnetic resonance imaging,^[296] Philip Hench '20 for discovery of the hormone cortisone,^[297] and Wangari Maathai '66 for founding the Green Belt Movement.^[298] Other alumni have also been pioneers in their respective fields, including John Wistar Simpson '41, a pioneer in nuclear energy,^[299] and Vladimir Zworykin '26, who has been regarded as the "father of television".^[300] National Medal of Science winners include Bert W. O'Malley '59 & '63, a pioneer in steroid hormones,^[301] and Herbert Boyer '63, Genentech founder and biotech pioneer;^[302] while Leonard Baker '52^[303] and Michael Chabon '84^[304] have won the Pulitzer Prize.

Pitt alumni who have excelled in professional sports include Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Dan Marino '83,^[305] Mike Ditka '61,^[306] and Tony Dorsett '77.^[307] Basketball Hall of Fame inductees include pioneering coach Clifford Carlson '18 & '20^[308] while others, such as John Woodruff '39 and Roger Kingdom '02, have won Olympic gold.^[309]

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  Samuel J. R. McMillan (1846), U.S. senator from Minnesota

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  Andrew Mellon 49th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

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  Philip Hench (M.D. 1920), recipient of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Medicine

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  Academy Award-winning dancer and actor, Gene Kelly (1933)

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  Olympic Gold-winning runner, John Woodruff (1939)

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  Paul Lauterbur (Ph.D. 1962), recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Medicine

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  Orrin Hatch (J.D. 1962), U.S. senator from Utah

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  Ben Cardin (B.A. 1964), U.S. senator from Maryland

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  Wangari Maathai (M.Sc. 1965), recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize

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  Fred Rogers, television host

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  John Irving, bestselling author

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  Dan Marino (1983), football player

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  Michael Chabon (B.A. 1984), Pulitzer Prize–winning author

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  Vjosa Osmani (M.L. 2004, S.J.D. 2015), fifth President of Kosovo

Discover more about People related topics

Alumni Hall (University of Pittsburgh)

Alumni Hall (University of Pittsburgh)

Alumni Hall at the University of Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark that was formerly known as the Masonic Temple in Pittsburgh. Constructed in 1914-1915, it was designed by renowned architect Benno Janssen of Janssen & Abbot Architects. Other buildings in Pittsburgh's Oakland Cultural District designed by Janssen include the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, Mellon Institute, and Pitt's Eberly Hall.

List of University of Pittsburgh faculty

List of University of Pittsburgh faculty

This list of University of Pittsburgh faculty includes instructors, researchers, and administrators of the University of Pittsburgh, a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

Jonas Salk

Jonas Salk

Jonas Edward Salk was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New York and New York University School of Medicine.

John Brashear

John Brashear

John Alfred Brashear was an American astronomer and instrument builder.

Benjamin Spock

Benjamin Spock

Benjamin McLane Spock was an American pediatrician and left-wing political activist whose book Baby and Child Care (1946) is one of the best-selling books of the twentieth century, selling 500,000 copies in the six months after its initial publication in 1946 and 50 million by the time of Spock's death in 1998. The book's premise to mothers was that they "know more than you think you do." Spock's parenting advice and recommendations revolutionized parental upbringing in the United States, and he is considered to be amongst the most famous and influential Americans of the 20th century.

List of people considered father or mother of a field

List of people considered father or mother of a field

Often, discoveries and innovations are the work of multiple people, resulting from continual improvements over time. However, certain individuals are remembered for making significant contributions to the birth or development of a field or technology. These individuals may often be described as the "father" or "mother" of a particular field or invention, mostly in Western societies.

David I. Cleland

David I. Cleland

David Ira Cleland was an American engineer, Educator and professor emeritus in the School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, and was recognized as the "Father of Project Management".

Peter Safar

Peter Safar

Peter Safar was an Austrian anesthesiologist of Czech descent. He is credited with pioneering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Analytic philosophy

Analytic philosophy

Analytic philosophy is a branch and tradition of philosophy using analysis, popular in the Western world and particularly the Anglosphere, which began around the turn of the 20th century in the contemporary era in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia, and continues today. Analytic philosophy is often contrasted with continental philosophy, coined as a catch-all term for other methods prominent in Europe.

John McDowell

John McDowell

John Henry McDowell, FBA is a South African philosopher, formerly a fellow of University College, Oxford, and now university professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Although he has written on metaphysics, epistemology, ancient philosophy, nature, and meta-ethics, McDowell's most influential work has been in the philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. McDowell was one of three recipients of the 2010 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Distinguished Achievement Award, and is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the British Academy.

Nicholas Rescher

Nicholas Rescher

Nicholas Rescher is a German-American philosopher, polymath, and author, who has been a professor of philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh since 1961. He is chairman of the Center for Philosophy of Science and was formerly chairman of the philosophy department.

List of University of Pittsburgh alumni

List of University of Pittsburgh alumni

This list of University of Pittsburgh alumni includes notable graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of the University of Pittsburgh, a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.