Bill Schackner stories, Page 8
Henry Kissinger’s visits to Pittsburgh pointed to sharply different opinions of the former U.S diplomat
Over the years, Henry Kissinger’s trips to Pittsburgh — like his visits elsewhere — reinforced his status as both a global celebrity and polarizing figure, seen by many as a brilliant diplomat and by others as a war criminal. Either way, he commanded attention. That was true in 1990 when...
Faculty union files labor complaint against Pitt, alleging it is stalling contract talks
Still without a contract two years after forming, the union representing 3,000 faculty members at the University of Pittsburgh has filed an unfair labor practice complaint, accusing Pitt of prolonging the contract talks. The United Steelworkers asserts in a filing before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board that Pitt is engaging...
Snowstorm slams Erie region, shuts down PennWest Edinboro
Sure, El Niño may be poised to deliver Greater Pittsburgh another warmer-than-usual winter with less precipitation. Up north, the lake effect still rules. An intense snowstorm Tuesday off Lake Erie that is forecast to dump up to 20 inches in Erie County and surrounding areas prompted PennWest University’s Edinboro campus...
Pa. community colleges still waiting for state funding using loans, reserves to get by
Pennsylvania lawmakers who managed to pass a long-overdue appropriation for state-related universities before Thanksgiving left Harrisburg without doing the same for the state’s 15 community colleges. The appropriations for the 2024 fiscal year were due July 1 and are five months late. Some community college leaders say they have begun...
Tensions on college campuses over Israel-Hamas War prompt federal investigations
University of Pittsburgh senior Eitan Weinkle lost an acquaintance in the Hamas attack at a festival in Israel on Oct. 7 and knows someone else who was taken hostage. He shoulders that grief and a fear shared by his Jewish peers at Pitt as antisemitic threats on college campuses rise....
IUP names dean for proposed college of osteopathic medicine
Indiana University of Pennsylvania leaders have hired a dean for their proposed college of osteopathic medicine and say the move is an important step toward establishing the state’s first such school on a public campus. Dr. Miko Rose, 50, comes from the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Pacific Northwest University...
International student enrollment rebounds to nearly pre-pandemic levels, report says
International enrollment at colleges nationwide has rebounded to almost pre-pandemic levels, with last year’s 12% enrollment jump representing the biggest annual increase in four-plus decades, a new report shows. The report released Monday by the New York-based nonprofit Institute of International Education puts the U.S. head count at about 1.06...
‘Mom, there’s a fire!’: Point Park student makes frantic call when scooter catches fire in off-campus apartment
There are phone calls home to mom that college students never want to make. And then there’s the one placed early Saturday by Point Park University sophomore Aidan McFarlane, 19, barefoot, barely awake and frantic, as he realized his battery-powered electric scooter was ablaze in his studio apartment. Billowing smoke...
Carnegie Mellon receives $25M gift for computational biology from trustee and wife
Carnegie Mellon University has received a $25 million gift from longtime Trustee Ray Lane and his wife, Stephanie, to support the institution’s Computational Biology Department. Carnegie Mellon President Farnam Jahanian announced the gift in a note to campus Monday afternoon. He called it a “monumental investment” in an expanding area...
Call to help find missing man draws robust response from communities that know him well
The turnout Sunday on short- notice caught even the organizers by surprise. More than 200 volunteers, some clinging as tightly to their optimism as their walking sticks, chose to forgo a cloudless autumn day ripe for relaxation to join what arguably was a long shot search and rescue effort for...
Man fatally shot after domestic dispute in Pittsburgh
A man died Saturday morning after being shot by a woman in what Pittsburgh police say started as a domestic dispute. Officers were dispatched to the Maple Ridge Apartment complex on the 2100 block of Park Hill Drive in East Hills around 11:30 a.m. Saturday to investigate reports of a...
State House approves funding for Pitt, Penn State, 2 others — but with a stipulation the universities are balking at
The state House passed legislation Tuesday that Democrats and Republicans quickly hailed as progress toward ending a monthslong stalemate over this year’s appropriations to the University of Pittsburgh and other state-related institutions. But at least one potential glitch has developed — a big one. The House, where Democrats hold a...
Point Park University wants to increase enrollment by 30%, house older adults
Point Park University wants to attract artists, single parents and retirees to live on its campus as part of an effort to reinvigorate Downtown Pittsburgh and add 30% to the school’s enrollment by decade’s end. On Monday, leaders of the Downtown university with 3,300 students unveiled a strategic plan outlining...
IUP set to open $90 million classroom hall
Hannah Borys and her classmates may feel like time travelers once their Indiana University of Pennsylvania science classes move from a dated 1960s hall into a gleaming venue designed to promote collaboration across disciplines. The $90 million John J. and Char Kopchick Hall at IUP is set to open in...
Private colleges in Western Pa. eye shared services, cooperative purchasing
Apparently for colleges in and around Pittsburgh, the idea of joining forces is worth a look. With enrollment at many colleges dropping and cost pressures growing, several private colleges in Western Pennsylvania have been considering whether they ought to form a consortium to share services and make joint purchases. For...
Number of freshmen seeking bachelor’s degrees at U.S. colleges drops 6%, report says
The number of college freshmen enrolling in bachelor’s degree programs nationally declined this fall by 6% from last year, but overall enrollment rose 2.1%, according to a report released Thursday. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report offered a mixed enrollment picture as higher education emerges from the pandemic. The...
$43M CCAC facility to focus on robotics, other advancing technologies
Justin Starr spent years working in Pittsburgh’s robotics industry and saw first-hand the disconnect between the skills students often leave colleges with and those his industry desperately sought. “We always had great success on the engineering end, but when it came to getting technicians to do things like actually build...
PennWest, other universities weigh options for unused student housing
“Live here, live well.” That’s the online pitch promoting “Vulcan Village” apartments near PennWest University’s California campus in Washington County. The student complex has a resort-inspired outdoor pool, around-the-clock maintenance and a fitness center. But these days, there aren’t enough students living there. Fewer than half of its 770 beds...
Pa. higher ed system seeks 6.5% boost in state funding to maintain tuition freeze
The board overseeing Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities said Thursday it aims to freeze tuition for a sixth consecutive year in 2024-2025, provided the state boosts the system’s funding by 6.5%. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s board of governors voted to send Gov. Josh Shapiro an appropriation request of...
Penn State hires architect, construction managers for $700M renovation of Beaver Stadium
Penn State has awarded a contract for architectural work on its planned $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium to a firm versed in major sports construction projects, including on Texas A&M University’s Kyle Field and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills stadium now being built. Monday’s announcements of hiring Populous to handle...
PennWest interim president says new university has hit ‘enrollment floor,’ will rebound
PennWest University charges the same tuition and recruits heavily from the same region as fellow state-owned institutions Slippery Rock University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, yet PennWest’s enrollment plunged again while its two peers have grown. In an interview with the Tribune-Review, PennWest leaders, including interim President R. Lorraine “Laurie”...
Late schoolteacher with affinity for W&J College gives record $50 million gift
Anica Donnan Rawnsley taught school as a young adult, and while she never attended Washington & Jefferson College, she developed an affinity for the place early on through family members who enrolled there and graduated. Now, months after her passing, she has made gift of approximately $50 million to W&J...
As PennWest struggles, 1st-year enrollment up again at other Pa. state-owned universities
In revealing fall 2023 enrollment data Monday, leaders of Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities asserted that they potentially had turned a corner in reversing 13 years of student declines. But there’s a problem with that scenario – PennWest University. Data shows a continuing steep drop at PennWest, established last year by merging...
Just shy 4 years ago, another graduate worker union drive has begun at the University of Pittsburgh
Last time, they came close — as in 39 votes shy in an election to secure union representation. Now, four years later, more than 2,000 graduate student workers at the University of Pittsburgh, including teaching and research assistants, are vying anew to join the United Steelworkers. A card-signing campaign initiated...
Penn State suspends fraternity over alleged hazing incident
A Penn State University fraternity has been suspended for four years following an investigation into an alleged hazing incident. The sanction imposed on the Delta Theta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity runs through fall 2027. Details of the incident were not released by the university. The fraternity chapter was...
