“School libraries, they’re really valuable, they are, but they’re also not the central place that students are learning information about the world,” Gayle Rogers, chair of the Dietrich School's Department of English.
As colleges across the country remain hotbeds for anger, protests and safety concerns during the Israel-Hamas war, two Dietrich School professors — one Jewish, the other Muslim — want to foster dialogue and compassion on Pitt’s campus.
In 2017, when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Dietrich School faculty member Fernando Tormos-Aponte’s first impulse was to return to his homeland to help rebuild. Recognizing that his presence would have meant one more person dependent on the archipelago’s already strained resources, Tormos-Aponte instead turned to his training as a social scientist to support his loved ones.
In 1996, Dietrich School Professor Emerita Toi Derricotte and colleague Cornelius Eady founded Cave Canem, which holds weeklong annual retreats, prizes and fellowships to help foster the growth of Black poets. Since then they have played a role in developing the voices and careers of some of the greatest poets of the 21st century.
During an event Oct. 25, Clyde Wilson Pickett, vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion, announced that Todd Reeser, the Dietrich School's associate dean for faculty affairs and a professor in the Department of French and Italian, has been asked to serve as co-chair of the University's new LGBTQIA+ Steering Committee, which will provide advice and counsel to Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel and senior administrators.
Says Dietrich School alumnus Jim Zurcher (A&S ’56), "All I’m doing is paying back to somebody else what the University did for me. I want to help someone who couldn’t go to Pitt without some financial assistance, just like I could never have afforded an education."
Engaging with harm, loss, trauma, and conflict is difficult in the classroom. Teaching in a time of conflict requires instructors to consider a wide range of tools and instructional strategies. The Center for Teaching and Learning is offering resources in three areas for instructors as they engage with these conversations in their classrooms. Visit their website to learn more.
Like many of you over the past several days, I have continued to watch the horrific and heartbreaking scenes resulting from Hamas’ unprecedented terrorist attacks against Israel and innocent civilians. In no uncertain terms, we condemn these unconscionable, barbaric acts. Over these same days, I’ve listened to our community’s voice, which, for so many, includes the heaviness of unthinkable loss.
On Wednesday, September 27, Dietrich School and College of General Studies Dean, Adam Leibovich, hosted a celebration at the University Club to recognize staff members from both units who’ve reached service milestones of five, 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, and 50 years.
The Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum recognizes faculty who have taught a modified course or revised curricula to strengthen diversity and inclusion, resulting in changes of impact. Any full-time or part-time Pitt faculty member at the University may apply for this award. An information session will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 21. The session will include an overview of the goals of the award, eligibility, application process, and selection procedures. Attendees can participate in a Q&A session at the end of the information session.
