Bill Schackner stories, Page 11
Backlash prompts Bishop Zubik to cancel Mass planned in solidarity with LGBTQ+ community
A Sunday Mass at Duquesne University’s chapel that had been planned in solidarity with LGBTQ+ Catholics was canceled at the request of Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik because of an angry backlash including threats, officials confirmed Friday. The Mass on the Catholic campus was arranged by Catholics for Change in...
Colleges and universities moving away from standardized tests in admissions decisions
More than eight out of every 10 colleges and universities that award bachelor’s degrees no longer require or do not consider standardized tests in admissions decisions, according to a national survey released Wednesday. The latest tally from FairTest, an Arlington, Mass., group that has long been critical of the SAT...
Head of Carnegie Mellon’s music school leaving for job at Northwestern
Jonathan Bailey Holland, the head of Carnegie Mellon University’s school of music for less than a year, is leaving to accept the music deanship at Northwestern University. He begins his new job Sept. 1. Holland’s appointment to the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music was announced on Northwestern’s website....
Conservative group says Pitt violated free speech rights of organizers of transgender debate
A conservative group representing organizers of an April transgender rights debate at the University of Pittsburgh claims that Pitt violated the organizers’ free speech rights by charging an $18,734 security fee to quell raucous student protests outside. The Alliance Defending Freedom made the accusation in a letter to the university...
USW petitions state labor board to unionize Pitt staffers
Monday’s petition by the United Steelworkers for a state-supervised election to unionize thousands of University of Pittsburgh staff is rooted in years of preparation, said Jesse Dubin, a program evaluator in Pitt’s school of pharmacy. Though the path to a vote could be complex and prolonged staff will benefit from...
Pitt, Slovakian government officials look to expand academic collaboration
Not every college classroom rates a visit from a European country’s ambassador and his entourage. Then again, not many settings for teaching Slovak culture and language quite compare to the University of Pittsburgh’s Czechoslovak Room, one of 31 renowned Nationality Rooms on a campus that is home to the only...
CCAC tuition to go up 3.3% next school year
Tuition for full-time students attending the Community College of Allegheny County is going up 3.3% for the 2023-24 school year. Tuition for students from Allegheny County will go from $1,830 to $1,890 per semester. Students from other Pennsylvania counties will pay $3,780 per semester in tuition, up from $3,660. Out-of-state...
United Steelworkers seeking vote to unionize thousands of Pitt staff
The United Steelworkers said it intends to file paperwork Monday calling for a state-supervised labor election that could unionize more than 5,000 workers at the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus and four branches. The USW already represents about 3,000 full- and part-time faculty on Pitt’s main campus in Oakland and...
5 IUP executives fired in move to cut costs, streamline operations
Five executives at Indiana University of Pennsylvania have lost their jobs in a move the university says is designed to cut costs and streamline operations. “IUP, like colleges and universities across the nation, is facing dramatic challenges both internally and externally (and) must accelerate its progress toward student-centeredness and financial...
Washington & Jefferson to start offering bachelor’s degree in nursing
Washington & Jefferson College plans to start offering a bachelor’s degree in nursing starting in the fall of 2024. W&J leaders say the move makes sense, with nurses in high demand and the school able to partner with nearby Washington Health System’s Washington Hospital. The college plans to enroll 24...
Carnegie Mellon artificial intelligence institute to receive $20M in federal funding
Carnegie Mellon University will use $20 million in federal funding to establish an artificial intelligence institute that will look for ways to use AI to deal with public health, disaster management and other societal needs. The AI Institute for Societal Decision Making will develop “human-centric AI tools” that can respond...
Duquesne now allowed to recruit students to planned osteopathic medical school
Duquesne University is allowed to begin recruiting students to its planned college of osteopathic medicine, a significant step toward opening in the fall of 2024. The college rising along Forbes Avenue on the Bluff now has pre-accreditation status from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, campus officials said Wednesday. The...
‘Enough’: New Kensington pastor, others implore youth to stop the violence
Rows of black folding chairs arranged in a parking lot beside a playground in New Kensington on Saturday looked as out of place as the stuffed animals, flowers and other tributes left nearby to one more teen whose life was cut short. At a “Stop the Violence” rally held near...
Duquesne’s new grant match program targets transfer students as way to boost enrollment
Transfer students — long an afterthought when colleges had plenty of teens to recruit straight out of high school — these days are being courted by four-year campuses to keep enrollments healthy. The latest example comes from Duquesne University. Beginning this summer, Duquesne says it will match up to $20,400...
Man who gave $1M to IUP’s osteopathic medicine school explains why he donated
Rich Caruso was skeptical when he learned his alma mater, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, wanted to boost rural physician access by opening the commonwealth’s first school for osteopathic medicine on a state university campus. Then his 101-year-old mother, Margaret, got sick. What happened next to the woman who lives in...
Penn State University trustees to weigh spending $70 million for first phase of Beaver Stadium renovation
Penn State University appears poised to move forward with the first phase of renovating Beaver Stadium, a closely watched project to extend the life of one of the nation’s largest and most familiar college football venues. University trustees, due to meet Friday, May 5 at University Park, are expected to...
Commencement season gets underway
A friend asked Katy Nesbitt what’s more stressful: Being second-guessed by thousands of screaming World Cup soccer fans in a gigantic stadium or giving the commencement speech at her alma mater. The first American woman to referee at a men’s World Cup, Nesbitt laughed at the thought, knowing she will...
Pitt names next dean of university’s School of Arts and Sciences
A nationwide search to find a new dean for the University of Pittsburgh’s largest school has led to an educator already working on campus. Adam K. Leibovich, described by Pitt officials as a prolific scholar and accomplished teacher, will become dean of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and...
Tuition discounting by private colleges and universities reaches new high
Sticker prices at private colleges may be sky high, but what many students actually pay has been lower as those schools aggressively compete by dangling deep tuition discounts. Now, a new study finds that for the first time, entering and returning undergraduates at those schools, on average, are paying less...
As Pitt imposes ticket limit on graduation ceremony, some worry that family will be left out
The April 19 message sent to University of Pittsburgh students readying for graduation Sunday began routinely enough: “We are very excited that so many graduates will be joining us at the universitywide commencement ceremony on April 30, ” it read. Then came the next sentence, posted in bold: “Due to...
Pitt students hold ‘die-in’ to protest university’s delay in notifying campus of threat hoax
About 100 University of Pittsburgh students laid down outside the Cathedral of Learning on Friday afternoon to stage a “die-in” to protest the university’s delay in notifying campus about active shooter threats Monday night. The incident reported at Hillman Library proved to be a hoax. But students who laid down...
PennWest says move to consolidate academic colleges will save $2M
PennWest University will consolidate its six academic colleges into three and rename them as the year-old university — itself created through a merger — seeks to cut costs while reversing enrollment losses. The university’s Council of Trustees approved the measure Thursday. Officials gave few details afterward about the reorganization, but...
Pitt official says more faculty need active killer training sessions
Not enough of the University of Pittsburgh’s 5,800 faculty have opted to take a campus police course that could save their lives if someone with a gun, knife or other weapon invades campus, a top official said. Fallout from Monday night’s active shooter hoaxes and a nearly 90-minute delay by...
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor-elect Joan Gabel talks top priorities
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor-elect Joan Gabel said in a wide-ranging interview Monday that her top priorities after taking office figure to include identifying the school’s next provost, initiating a capital campaign and dealing with tuition and labor issues. But Gabel said her first 100 days and beyond “will also include...
Pitt Chancellor-elect Joan Gabel faces array of challenges as she prepares to take helm
Once Joan Gabel arrives in July from the University of Minnesota, the success of her tenure as University of Pittsburgh chancellor might hinge on the same unforgiving metrics that were used to judge her male predecessors. Fundraising will be key among them. Even with its $5.5 billion endowment, a thriving...
