transcribed from the flyer, The Company We Keep, University of Pittsburgh, 2007:
We all are judged by the company we keep, and as we celebrate our 220th anniversary, the University of Pittsburgh is moving forward in very distinguished company.
Keeping Great Company By Building Institution-Wide Strength
In terms of overall performance, Pitt ranks in the very top cluster of U.S. public research universities, according to the 2006 edition of The Top American Research Universities annual report, issued by The Center for Measuring University Performance. There are only seven universities in The Center’s top public university group.
Berkley, Illinois, Michigan, PITT, UCLA, UNC, and Wisconsin
That is great company, and the ranking is based on nine objective measures of institutional strength. Taken together, these measures confirm that Pitt is performing at the highest levels in areas central to its mission – educating talented students at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels; supporting a robust program of research; nurturing faculty excellence; effectively managing resources; and sustaining the loyalty of alumni and friends. As the directors of the The Center have stated, “[W]e collect data on nine measures, and the best universities excel on all nine.”
Keeping Great Company By Developing High-Achieving Students and Alumni
In undergraduate education, just nine universities, in addition to the three national service academies, claimed both Rhodes and Marshall Scholars in 2007. Pitt is the only public university in that elite group.
Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, PITT, Princeton, Washington University, and Yale
That is great company, and it reflects Pitt’s strong record of educating students who earn the most prestigious forms of national and international recognition. Just since 1995, in fact, Pitt undergraduates have won two Rhodes Scholarships, six Marshall Scholarships, four Truman Scholarships, four Udall Scholarships, one Churchill Scholarship, 29 Goldwater Scholarships, and three Mellon Humanities Fellowships.
At least as important is the recognition that Pitt graduates have won is the quality and impact of their lives’ work. In recent years, just to give a few examples, alumni of the University of Pittsburgh have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Prize in medicine, the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the Shaw Prize in medicine, the Albany Prize in medicine, the Fritz Medal in engineering, the Templeton Prize, and the Grainger Challenge Prize for sustainability.
Pitt senior Daniel Armanios, a University Honors College student who is earning degrees in mechanical engineering an political science, was on of just 32 U.S. students named a 2007 Rhodes Scholar. Armanios also had been named both a 2004 Goldwater Scholar and a 2005 Truman Scholar. Among his many accomplishments, he is the founder of Session: Middle East, and undergraduate forum for the discussing the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Pitt graduate Herb Boyer is widely acclaimed for his pioneering work as a genetic researcher and a biotechnology entrepreneur. Boyer founded Genetech, America’s first major biotechnology company. He and his principal research partner are the only two individuals in history to have been awarded both the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology. He also has received the Shaw and Albany Prizes in medicine.
Keeping Great Company By Supporting Pioneering Research
In research, Pitt ranks seventh among all U.S. universities in terms of the competitive grants awarded to members of its faculty by the National Institutes of Health.
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Penn, Washington, UCSF, UCLA, PITT, Washington University, Michigan, and Duke
That is great company and is a clear sign that Pitt is building on its proud past, a legacy that includes developing the vaccine that won this nation’s war against polio as well as the surgical techniques and drug therapies that have made human organ transplantation a treatment option that is available around the world. Pitt faculty members are leading the way in areas as diverse as computer modeling, gerontology, philosophy of science, nanotechnology, and urban education, as well as in a host of other areas.
Adding new knowledge for the benefit of humankind is a critical part of the Pitt mission. Our unusually strong research culture also adds richness to the learning experiences available to students at all levels, including undergraduates.
In 1955, the polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk and his team of Pitt researchers was declared to be “safe, effective, and potent.” This has been hailed as one of the great achievements of the 20th century. Newsweek reported: “It was a summit moment in history. None before it in the field of medicine ever received such dramatic affirmation, instant public comprehension, and official blessing.”
Thomas Starzl, University of Pittsburgh Distinguished Service Professor of Surgery, performed the world’s first liver transplant. He received the National Medal of Science, this country’s highest scientific honor, in 2006. He was honored for his pioneering work in liver transplantation and his discoveries in immunosuppressive medication that advanced the field of organ transplantation.
Keeping Great Company By Leading in International Studies
In international education, only 17 American universities can claim four or more area studies programs that have been competitively designated National Resource Centers by the U.S. Department of Education.
Berkley, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Penn, PITT, Texas, UCLA, UNC, Washington, Wisconsin, and Yale
That is great company, and it clearly reflects the strength of Pitt’s Asian, Latin American, Russian and East European, and European studies centers, as well as its International Business Center, all of which have been designated National Resource Centers. Pitt also is home to one of just 10 European Union Centers of Excellence in the United States funded by the European Commission.
Pitt’s deep commitment to global education is symbolized by its unique collection of 26 working classrooms known as the Nationality Rooms. The products of that commitment are evidenced by the fact that Pitt is one of the country’s leading producers of both Fulbright scholars and Peace Corps volunteers.
In 2004, Pitt alumna Wangari Muta Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote democracy, women’s rights, and environmentalism in Kenya. In returning to campus in fall 2006, she state, “I feel as though I am back home. I am deeply grateful for the gift this institution gave me. I felt I was prepared to go forth, ready to serve the world.”
Professor Alberta Sbragia serves as director of both Pitt’s European Studies Center, which has been designated a National Resource Center, and its European Union Center, which has been designated a European Union Center of Excellence. For her personal achievements, she is one of a small number of elite American professors to hold a Jean Monnet Chair ad personam, which is supported by the European Union Commission. She also hold the Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg University Chair at Pitt.
Keeping Great Company By Contributing to Our Home Communities
In terms of community commitments, Pitt was on of just seven AAU-member research universities included in a list of “best neighbor” urban colleges and universities released by the President of the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) in 2006.
Case, Chicago, CMU, Emory, Penn, PITT, and USC
That is great company, and, according to the NEBHE presidential report, it reflects the fact that these “Saviors of Our Cities,” as the cited universities were called, have “dramatically strengthened the economy and quality of life of their neighboring communities.” Pitt serves as a vital economic engine in its home region. Through its research program alone, the University imports more than $600 million into the region each year, and those research dollars support more than 17,000 local jobs while also generating the ideas upon which the economy of the future will be built.
Speaking more broadly, both the University itself and the people of Pitt add vibrancy to each of our home communities and provide a range of opportunities for educational, cultural, and recreational enrichment. At the same time, the University is fortunate to have found a wonderful home in each of its five campus communities – Pittsburgh, Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville.
Each year, the University spends more than $1.5 billion in the community and supports more than 32,000 jobs in Allegheny County. Its students spend more than $213 million on goods, services, and rental payments.
Through the Pitt Volunteer Pool, faculty and staff members donate more than 10,000 hours annually to community service projects for agencies such as the Salvation Army, Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Keeping Great Company By Competing On and Off the Field
In intercollegiate athletics, Pitt’s highest-profile programs – football and men’s basketball – are consistently considered to be among the country’s finest. Recently, ESPN.com used the Sagarin system to rate universities based on the strength of their performance in football and men’s basketball over the course of the last five years. Pitt was tied for 10th as one of the nation’s top two-sport schools.
Texas, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Boston College, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Maryland, PITT, and Michigan
That is great company, and Pitt’s strength in athletics extends far beyond those two sports. In another recent ranking, an all-sports ranking done by Sports Illustrated on Campus, Pitt was ranked 17th among all of the country’s universities in terms of the overall strength of its athletic program.
But the value of Pitt’s intercollegiate athletic program goes beyond its successes in athletic competition. Its student-athletes also have built an enviable record of academic success. During 2006, out of approximately 450 Pitt student-athletes, 311 had term grade point averages exceeding 3.0, 23 had a perfect term grad point average of 4.0, and 124 were named Big East Academic All-Stars. Pitt student-athletes also have distinguished themselves through their commitments to public service.
For his key role in leading our 2006-07 men’s basketball team to a 29-win season and a Sweet Sixteen NCAA Tournament appearance, senior center Aaron Gray earned honors as an All-American and was a unanimous first-team selection to the All-Big East team. For his performance in the classroom, he was named the 2006-07 Big East/Aéropostale Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
A three-year starter at quarterback for Pitt, Tyler Palko has been honored as a member of both the All-Big East Football Team and Big East All-Academic Football Team. Recently, he also was selected as the 2006-07 Division 1-A Coca-Cola Community All-American for his efforts in establishing the TC House Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising funds for the construction of a group home for individuals with Down syndrome in his hometown.
University of Pittsburgh
Founded in 1787 and Celebrating 220 Years of Building Our Future Together
Leader in Education • Pioneer in Research • Partner in Regional Development