December 2019 Newsletter

• With Appreciation
• 2019 UPSIDE Award Announcement
• Save the Date for Hoopla! 2020
• Black History Month 2020
• Get Involved

With Appreciation

As you may know, I recently announced with both sadness and excitement that I am stepping down from my role as Vice Chancellor of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) in early January 2020 to return to the practice of law.  While I am excited to practice law again, I am saddened by the thought of not working with you all towards our common goals.  In the spirit of diversity and inclusion, I deeply believe that passing the baton to a new leader, with a different perspective and different strengths, will greatly benefit our community as we strive towards our important goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

To further aid our campus community, and incoming leadership, in advancing these goals, ODI will coordinate and curate a campus-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) inventory – a comprehensive, searchable listing of the University’s resources that are aimed at advancing DEI and have helped foster a welcoming and supportive campus environment for diverse populations. This initiative will roll out in the beginning of the new year and your input will be valued and critical for the success of this Inventory as a valuable tool.

It has been an honor to serve the people of Pitt. I humbled by all that I have learned from each one of you. Pitt is fortunate to have strong support for D&I from the highest levels of leadership, a dedicated, innovative, and talented ODI team, and a network of professionals and allies across campus. 

Thank you for all that you do, thank you for teaching me, and inspiring me.  I will miss you every day and look forward to seeing what Pitt accomplishes next.

I hope that you all have a wonderful season.

H2P,

Pam 
 

2019 UPSIDE Award Announcement 

The Swanson School of Engineering’s Pitt Success, Transition, Representation, Innovation, Vision and Education (STRIVE) Program was recognized with the 2019 University Prize for Strategic, Inclusive and Diverse Excellence (UPSIDE) Award by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Chancellor's Office.

The goal of the Pitt STRIVE Program is to improve transitions of underrepresented minority (URM) students into doctoral engineering programs at the University. Using evidence-based strategies, the program aims to foster student and faculty engagement to ensure students’ successful completion of the PhD in engineering.

Learn more about Pitt STRIVE

HOOPLA! 2020

Black History Month 2020

Black History Month is celebrated annually during the month of February to acknowledge and celebrate the important contributions of people of African descent to our nation's life and culture.  Black History Month, which began as Negro History Week in 1926 under the leadership of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, falls in February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. 

This year's national theme is "African Americans and the Vote". The year 2020 marks the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment and the culmination of the women’s suffrage movement.  The year 2020 also marks the sesquicentennial of the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) and the right of black men to the ballot after the Civil War.  The theme speaks, therefore, to the ongoing struggle on the part of both black men and black women for the right to vote. You can read more about the theme on the ASALH website.