News
Dietrich School Undergraduate Wins Beinecke Scholarship
Undergraduate student John R. Starr has been awarded a Beinecke Scholarship worth $34,000 in support of his graduate education. Starr, a third year student from Warminster, Pennsylvania, is studying linguistics and English Writing, with a minor in Persian. He plans to pursue a PhD in linguistics with a focus on Persian.
Dietrich School Faculty Member Named 2019 Searle Scholar
Caroline Runyan, an assistant professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Neuroscience, has been named a 2019 Searle Scholar. The Searle Scholars Program makes grants to selected universities and research centers to support the independent research of exceptional young faculty in the biomedical sciences and chemistry who have recently been appointed as assistant professors on a tenure-track appointment. Runyan is one of 15 scientists selected for recognition this year.
Dietrich School Professor Recipient of 2019 McCarthy Award
Suzanne Staggenborg, professor and chair of the Dietrich School's Department of Sociology, is the recipient of the 2019 John D. McCarthy Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Scholarship of Social Movements and Collective Behavior. This award, given by the University of Notre Dame Center for the Study of Social Movements, will be presented during a ceremony in May 2019.
Three Dietrich School Faculty Members Named Bellet Teaching Excellence Award Recipients
Three faculty members of the Dietrich School have been selected for the 2019 Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Award, honoring faculty who use “innovative teaching” methods in undergraduate studies. Julie Beaulieu, a lecturer in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies program; Geoffrey Glover, a lecturer II in the Department of English; and Jeffrey Wheeler, a lecturer II in the Department of Mathematics are this year's awardees.
Dietrich School Faculty Member Named Co-Winner of 2019 Finneran Award
Daniel Balderston, Mellon Professor of Modern Languages in the Dietrich School's Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures, has been named co-winner of the 2019 Richard Finneran Award for his book, How Borges Wrote. The award is given by the Society for Textual Scholarship to recognize the best edition or book about editorial theory and/or practice published in the English language.
Dietrich School Professor Wins 2019 Tufts Poetry Award
Dawn Lundy Martin, professor in the Dietrich School's Department of English and co-founder of the University's Center for African American Poetry and Poetics, is the recipient of the 2019 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for her collection "Good Stock Strange Blood."
Dietrich School Faculty Member Receives Chancellor's Award for Service
Mark Kramer, a faculty member in the Dietrich School's Department of English, is a recipient of the 2019 Chancellor's Distinguished Public Service Award.
Dietrich School Faculty Member Receives Chancellor's Award for Teaching
Daniel Lambrecht, an assistant professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Chemistry, is the recipient of a 2019 Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award.
Three Dietrich School Professors Recognized for Excellence in Mentoring
Dietrich School faculty members William Layton (Department of Mathematics), John Markoff (Department of Sociology), and Michael Sayette (Department of Psychology) are recipients of the 2019 Provost's Award for Excellence in Mentoring.
Dietrich School Professor Analyzes Facebook's Impact on Politics, Activism
The social media behemoth Facebook, which started as a social networking site for college students, has morphed into a global tech powerhouse with more than 2 billion users over the last 15 years. Lara Putnam, professor and chair of the Dietrich School's Department of History, is an expert on grassroots politics and the rise of political activism, most markedly among college-educated women. As Facebook turns 15, she also analyzes how the social media platform has transformed politics and how Americans approach activism.
Urban Studies Program Coordinator Wins Ampco-Pittsburgh Prize for Advising
Dietrich School faculty member Carolyn Carson, coordinator and undergraduate advisor in the Urban Studies program and senior lecturer in the Department of History, has been awarded the 2019 Ampco-Pittsburgh Prize for Excellence in Advising.
Nicole Mitchell to Lead Jazz Studies
The Dietrich School has named Nicole M. Mitchell, an award-winning creative flutist, composer, bandleader and educator, as its William S. Dietrich II Endowed Chair in Jazz Studies, effective July 1, 2019. Mitchell also will be the director of the Jazz Studies Program and a professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Music. She becomes the third director in the program’s 49-year history, succeeding the late Geri Allen, who passed away in 2017.
Two Dietrich School Faculty Members Receive NSF CAREER Awards
Jennifer Laaser, assistant professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Chemistry, and Roger Mong, assistant professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Physics and Astronomy, are the recipients of NSF CAREER Awards. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.
Dietrich School Alumna Named University's First Schwarzman Scholar
Sangya Gyawali (A&S ’16), a lead analyst at BNY Mellon, has been named a 2020 Schwarzman scholar. Inspired by the Rhodes scholarship, the prestigious international graduate fellowship supports up to 200 scholars annually pursuing master’s degrees at the Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China’s leading science and technology university. Gyawali is the first Schwarzman scholar to come from the University of Pittsburgh.
Three Dietrich School Professors Named AAAS Fellows
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has appointed three Dietrich School professors as members of its 2018 lifetime fellowship cohort. AAAS will recognize James Woodward, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science; Jeremy Levy, a Distinguished Professor of Condensed Matter Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy; and Adam K. Leibovich, Associate Dean for Faculty Recruitment and Research Development in the Dietrich School and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, during its annual meeting on February 16.