At just 5 feet tall, the late Nancy Welfer needed a step stool to make a speech—a small but telling detail about a woman who commanded rooms far bigger than her stature. Born in Pittsburgh in 1920, the same year women in America won the right to vote, Welfer would spend her life making her own mark in ways that were ahead of her time.
Before reaching Hillman Library’s front doors, passersby can look through the windows and see a phrase in bold blue letters running the length of the grand staircase inside. It reads: “I am made to leave I am made again to return.”
Kornelia Tancheva, director of Pitt’s University Library System (ULS), reads the line through her own experience as an immigrant from Bulgaria.
“Your past is always part of you, and you change all the time, but you don’t forget where you come from,” Tancheva said.
From Pitt Stages:
Pitt Stages has officially announced their 2026-2027 season, comprised of compelling stories showcasing grit and inner strength that will reflect a common theme of Perseverance. The mix of mainstage productions, musicals, and one-act plays will consist of classical adaptations, modern-day abstraction, and a bohemian musical that celebrates the seasons of life.
Maintaining the perfect grid on your Instagram account is hard. But following Pitt on social media is easy.
Among elements most associated with Pittsburgh — Steelers, Pirates, Penguins, a bevy of unique bridges, several universities, French fries on sandwiches — the scenically striking confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to form the mighty Ohio might be the city’s key physical trademark.
As crucial as the three rivers are to the evolution and continued vitality to the city, however, when it comes their viability as far as fishing and human immersion, aka “swimmability,” well, it’s complicated.
Sanford Abraham Asher — a Pitt professor who was a pioneer of one of science’s mainstay imaging technologies until his death in January — was honored by NASA, who officially named a region of Mars after the chemistry innovator.
Almost every day, dozens of middle and high school students flow into The Garage Community and Youth Center, a former car repair shop converted into an after-school hub.
Sam Podnar knows if she’s going to make her city a better place, she can’t shy away from difficult conversations.
The Pittsburgh native and graduating senior is deeply invested in advocating for the interests of her neighbors, at the polls and on the national stage. Sometimes the best way to get to know someone, Podnar said, is by first knocking on their front door. She’s led canvassing efforts and voter registration drives in support of multiple campaigns.
For Emma Levick, a dog made all the difference; in this case, a service dog named Zia.
In 2022, just a week before starting classes her first year at Pitt, Levick was paired with a golden retriever-Labrador mix from Canine Companions, a national nonprofit that trains and supplies service dogs at no cost to people with disabilities. Levick, who uses a wheelchair, described getting her first service dog as “life-changing” and the key to living independently from her family.
