Bill Schackner stories, Page 4
Pittsburgh Technical College in ‘imminent danger’ of closing, agency says
The accrediting agency for Pittsburgh Technical College says the 80-year-old school “is in danger of imminent closure” and ordered its leaders to “demonstrate by June 28 why its accreditation should not be withdrawn.” The Middle States Commission on Higher Education on Friday released a summary of board actions taken Thursday...
No tuition increase for CCAC students
Tuition and most fees will not increase for students attending Community College of Allegheny County during the upcoming academic year. The Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a budget of almost $115 million for 2024-25. It keeps tuition for Allegheny County residents at $126 per credit, or $1,890 per full-time...
Point Park University extends offer to students as Philadelphia college closes
The urgent calls and emails to Point Park University started within hours of the abrupt announcement that a venerable arts campus in Philadelphia would close within a week, leaving hundreds of students suddenly without fall college plans. University of the Arts, dating to the 1870s, had become the latest small...
Gov. Shapiro, Pitt chancellor give vastly different takes on pro-Palestinian encampment than protest’s leaders
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office late Wednesday called it “unfortunate” that a 30-hour pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pittsburgh “devolved into documented violence, vandalism, and antisemitic rhetoric.” The statement from Shapiro press secretary Manuel Bonder came hours after Pitt Divest from Apartheid, the group that organized the encampment, offered a...
Pitt names 1st woman as engineering dean
Michele V. Manuel, a leading materials engineer in Florida, is the University of Pittsburgh’s new dean of engineering, a discipline dominated by males nationally that has sought to identify talented women and minorities. Her appointment as U.S. Steel Dean of the Swanson School of Engineering is effective Sept. 1, officials...
Pitt’s David C. Frederick Honors College expands to Greensburg campus
The University of Pittsburgh’s David C. Frederick Honors College is expanding to include high-achieving students enrolled at its suburban Greensburg campus in Hempfield, officials announced Tuesday. Effective this fall, undergraduates with the necessary academic qualifications can enroll in the newly formed David C. Frederick Honors College at Pitt-Greensburg. Students there,...
New PennWest University president called right pick at a pivotal time
Jon Anderson, provost and vice president for academic affairs and a professor at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, is Pennsylvania Western University’s new president. The State System of Higher Education board of governors chose Anderson Wednesday during a special meeting held by Zoom to find a permanent leader for...
Penn State trustees approve $700M renovation of Beaver Stadium
Penn State University trustees approved a $700 million renovation to Beaver Stadium on Tuesday after a sometimes heated debate about the athletic and economic benefits versus financial risks. The 26-2 vote during a special meeting followed a 90-minute presentation and discussion. There were three abstentions. Earlier Tuesday, the project passed...
Penn State trustee opposes $700M stadium renovation on eve of vote
Penn State University trustees are expected to vote Tuesday on whether an institution that is both a football powerhouse and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt should spend $700 million for a stadium renovation. One trustee has made it quite clear publicly how he feels. On his website, trustee...
High tea presented by Make-A-Wish brings Murrysville girl’s dream to life
Alejandra “Ale” Guerrero of Murrysville was radiant Sunday, and not just because she had on a flowing, princess-blue ballgown. The 13-year-old seventh grader at Franklin Regional Middle School, who fought her way through cancer last year, always wanted to attend a masquerade ball. She’d wear a fancy gown, the idea...
Pittsburgh Zoo open as usual after tornado
The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium opened at its normal time of 9:30 a.m. Saturday with modified operations as crews continued to clear debris from Friday’s tornado. A statement issued by spokeswoman Alex Cauley said zoo officials had recommended arriving after 11 a.m. and noted there would be some temporary restrictions...
IUP prepares for academic overhaul with proposed college name changes
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is poised to undergo an academic restructuring that would include name changes for three of its five colleges, discontinuing low-enrolled programs and identifying areas for future growth. Those moves and others will be reviewed by the State System of Higher Education in Harrisburg in the coming...
From fossil fuels to Israel, university divestment debates can be lengthy struggles
Protesters yelling “divest” outside the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning had a bullhorn, a well-honed message and a chest-high yellow banner that read: “We’re Still Here.” But their focus wasn’t the Israel-Hamas war. On that day in January 2020, they were demanding that Pitt rid its multibillion-dollar endowment of...
University of Pittsburgh faculty ratifies 1st union contract
About 3,500 University of Pittsburgh faculty represented by the United Steelworkers have ratified their first contract with Pitt, and it includes a $60,000 salary floor for full-time professors, yearly raises and enhanced job protections. The union Saturday announced results from weeklong voting on the main Oakland campus and branches at...
Duquesne student’s journey from a cracked violin to master’s degree, fellowship
At age 9, Jesse Thompson heard a violin for the first time and was mesmerized by it during a student assembly as a public school student in Williamsport, Pa. There was one problem. There were not enough violins in school for him to study it in class. “I was bawling...
Penn State branch campuses will offer faculty, staff buyouts
Penn State University is offering eligible faculty, staff and administrators on its 20 Commonwealth campuses the option to leave their jobs with a lump sum payment and benefits. The move comes as Pennsylvania’s flagship public university works to shrink a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. A number of its Commonwealth campuses, including...
PennWest trustees recommend 2 presidential candidates
PennWest University trustees on Monday forwarded the names of two presidential hopefuls – one from Utah and the other from Tennessee – to the State System of Higher Education, which will pick the institution’s next president later this month. They are:Jon Anderson, provost and vice president for academic affairs/professor at...
Penn State trustees advance proposed property sales involving Behrend, Harrisburg campuses
Property zoned for college housing at Penn State University’s Behrend campus near Erie may gain new life as a church, while a Penn State Harrisburg building could be going to that city’s school district. A panel of Penn State trustees endorsed both real estate divestitures Thursday as board members began...
A closer look at how University of Pittsburgh handled protests amid national strife
Many universities across the country are facing a harsh reckoning over vandalized buildings, mass campus arrests and chilling images from this week of student protesters battling police and sometimes each other. But the University of Pittsburgh is not — at least thus far. The university fared differently than other campuses...
Point Park, Pitt 2024 grads relish triumphs over pandemic-era troubles
Marley Parker began her studies four years ago at Point Park University living out of a hotel room Downtown — a comfortable enough space just a few blocks off campus, although light years from a normal freshman experience. Housed there temporarily by her university to reduce dorm occupancy amid a...
University of Pittsburgh, Steelworkers reach tentative agreement on 1st faculty labor contract
The union representing 3,400 University of Pittsburgh faculty has tentatively agreed with the school administration on their first labor contract — a pact running through June 30, 2026. The United Steelworkers union announced the deal late Thursday and said it included what it calls “historic language on wages and job...
IUP students ready to crunch their competition in lettuce-eating contest
Student clubs on college campuses have their defining attributes, and the group that Ava Moriarity and her friends started at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is no exception. In fact, it even has a distinguishing sound: It’s the crunch of fresh iceberg lettuce being devoured at breakneck speed by undergraduates who...
Demonstrators move protest off Pitt campus to Schenley Plaza
A group that includes University of Pittsburgh students began Tuesday occupying the lawn outside of the Cathedral of Learning to demand the school divest itself from war-related investment in Israel. As the crowd grew throughout the day, the protest moved across the street to Schenley Plaza. The students announced their...
Kenneth Mash re-elected leader of Pa. state university union
Kenneth Mash has been re-elected president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, the 5,000-plus member union for professors and coaches across the State System of Higher Education. The union on Monday announced result of voting by delegates across the state. Mash, a political science professor at...
PennWest presidential search narrowed down to 3 candidates
The search for a leader who can quell enrollment and financial woes at Western Pennsylvania’s largest state-owned university has narrowed to three people. Still in the running for the presidency of Pennsylvania Western University are: • Jon Anderson, provost and vice president for academic affairs/professor at Southern Utah University (Cedar...
