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2023 Diversity Award Recipients

Left to Right: Mike Bridges, James E Egan, Linda DeAngelo, Kurt Beschorner, Abimbola Fapohunda, Jill Demirci, Orquidia Torres, Interim Provost Joe McCarthy, Vice Provost John Wallace.
Left to Right: Mike Bridges, James E Egan, Linda DeAngelo, Kurt Beschorner, Abimbola Fapohunda, Jill Demirci, Orquidia Torres, Interim Provost Joe McCarthy, Vice Provost John Wallace.

The award formally recognizes faculty’s efforts in integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion concepts into their courses and curricula. Congratulations, faculty!


James Egan and Abimbola Fapohunda, School of Public Health, Behavioral and Community Health Sciences for creating the course within the recently launched Bachelor of Science program in the School of Public Health. The objective was actively involving students in identifying and critically examining health disparities through lectures, guest speakers, readings, and multimedia resources. Evolving since 2021, the course now integrates a final communication plan for a group presentation. Additionally, the format has shifted to live discussions centered around readings, promoting an environment where students are encouraged to pose questions to one another.

The course itself was a transformative experience, shedding light on the significance of diversity and inclusion within the realm of public health. Dr. Fapohunda’s teachings emphasized the importance of equity and how it needs to be an integral part of health interventions. I learned that addressing inequities goes beyond providing equal opportunities; it requires focus on equity to uplift those who experience adverse health outcomes and reside in marginalized communities.

– Chanita Russell, School of Public Health, Class of 2024

Linda DeAngelo, School of Education, Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy, for modifying a course to focus on change management within higher education. The shift in emphasis transitioned away from managing change within higher education, lacking equity, justice, and inclusivity. Instead, the approach pivoted from a transactional leadership framework in strategic planning to one with a central focus on equity and inclusion. These adjustments recognize students as active agents of change who prioritize and understand the importance of equity and inclusion.

Dr. DeAngelo created a brave space for students in her course to feel comfortable reflecting on inequities within our places of practice during our reflection assignments. Her guided prompts helped me think more about my own position of power, as well as my implicit biases. Her ongoing message to “dig deeper” pushed me to see inequities in the system I work in and consider what could be done differently to mitigate these systemic inequities.”

– Ashley Yarabinec, PharmD, BCGP 

Jill Demirci, School of Nursing, Health Promotion & Development, developed a curriculum on frontloading lactation with an equity focus to offer undergraduate nursing students a practical and low-pressure learning setting. The course introduces fundamental lactation knowledge, fostering critical thinking and enhancing nursing management skills. The goal is to heighten awareness, comfort, and familiarity among students regarding lactation support for diverse patient groups.

The implementation breast/chest feeding, and lactation education module has been a crucial element in my undergraduate education, not only did it make me more confident in my skills but taught me the importance of using inclusive language and the importance of using diverse models during education. I even had local nurses from Magee Women’s Hospital come up to me and compliment the education we received and tell me how impressed they are with the University of Pittsburgh nursing students’ education.

– Paula Hayden-Vasquez, School of Nursing, Class of 2024

Orquidia Torres, School of Medicine, Pediatrics, Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, for creating the Antiracism Curriculum (ARC) to increase awareness of racism in child and adolescent health, increase proficiency in trauma-sensitive skills during clinical encounters, and promote anti-racist practices in the workplace. Ongoing adjustments since 2020 have aimed to expand the program’s reach, improve accessibility, and ensure sustainability. Grant funding has been secured for Pediatrics and Internal Medicine to acquire relevant books and remunerate guest speakers. The program has been showcased at national and local conferences through poster abstracts and platform presentations. A manuscript on the program has also been published in the Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development.

There has remained a gap in curricula that have focused on active anti-racism and systemic racism in medicine. ARC does exactly this, describing examples of historical oppression and systemic racism as they relate to health, and guiding trainees as to how we may implement trauma-sensitive practices in our clinical practice that recognize and begin to repair racial inequities in healthcare.

– Harnoor Mann, MD PGY-3, Internal Medicine

Kurt E. Beschorner, Swanson School of Engineering, Bioengineering, implemented changes to a statistics course by integrating technical content with socially relevant discussions to cultivate a more inclusive and equitable learning environment. The objective is to enhance students’ proficiency in implementing inclusive research design practices. The lectures feature examples illustrating how health inequities can arise from the absence of inclusive research and best practices for conducting inclusive research. This approach aims to foster an environment where engineering students are encouraged to learn and engage more comfortably in discussions related to race and gender.

Dr. Beschorner did an excellent job incorporating diversity and inclusion in his curriculum. He informed us about the importance of inclusivity in research. His prepared slides showed evidence and reasoning for understanding gender identities, incorporating race into studies, and respectfully conducting research in underprivileged areas, all while using the statistical skills we had learned before. This content left a lasting impact on me as an engineer.

– Alisa Zhang

Diversity Award Recipients

Diego Chaves-Gnecco, Olga Klimova, Megan Kappel, Piper Carroll, John Wallace, Joaquin Rodriguez, Provost Ann Cudd, and Sera Mathew at the Provost's Award for Diversity in the Curriculum luncheon. This luncheon is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and managed/coordinated by the University Center for Teaching and Learning. The 2022 award recipients were recognized an event held at the University Club Jan. 24, 2023. The speakers were Provost Ann E. Cudd and Vice Provost John Wallace.
Left to right: Diego Chaves-Gnecco, Olga Klimova, Megan Kappel, Piper Carroll, John Wallace, Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity & Development, Joaquin Rodriguez, Provost Ann Cudd, Sera Mathew, Director for Equitable & Inclusive Teaching, University Center for Teaching & Learning

The award formally recognizes faculty’s efforts in integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion concepts into their courses and curricula. Congratulations, faculty!


Piper N. Carroll, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, for designing a course for psychiatry residents to begin confronting bias in psychiatric practice. The presence of the Respect, Responsibility, Equity in Medicine (RREM) curriculum has demonstrated the department and residency training program’s commitment to addressing healthcare disparities for diverse groups. The goal is – for residents and fellows – to gain confidence in practicing entirely equitable, responsible, and respectful psychiatry will all our patients and communities.

Through this work she has opened many of the residents’ eyes to blind spots, systemic racism and inequities in our profession, and also inspired us to do better and speak out when we see these inequities happening in real time. She is a huge part of helping our program and our profession move forward and I am proud to be her colleague!

Diego Chaves-Gnecco, School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, for designing the course for third- and fourth-year medical students to have a rotation at Salud Para Niños. Students attend the free pediatric weekly clinics where medical students and residents (who also have an opportunity to have Salud Para Niños serve as their continuity clinic) see, on average, seven (mostly Latinx and uninsured) per clinic. They provide healthcare while learning about barriers to and disparities in healthcare, how to address them, and how to enhance their knowledge about culturally humble and linguistically sensitive healthcare.

Above all, Dr. Chaves-Gnecco has inspired me with the passion and compassion he brings to his advocacy work and teaching. In my fellowship interviews, I have been asked where I see myself in10 years. My answer always includes running a community health center for Latino migrant children, a dream that would not be a possibility without this unique opportunity developed by Dr. Chaves-Gnecco.

Megan Kappel, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, English Department, for creating equitable access to course materials for her Integrating Writing and Design class. Ms. Kappel introduced broader and more nuanced definitions of diversity and inclusion, highlighting the importance and implementation details of the inclusive design content and assignments.

Megan made space for topics of inclusivity in a way I had not seen before in other design classes I have taken. Instead of having inclusive practices as a ‘stretch goal,’ or a small, general statement about inclusivity toward the bottom of the syllabus, Megan carved out genuine time for these topics. As a student passionate about DEI in design, I still remember getting excited when the syllabus came out during my student semester, because Inclusive Design had a whole unit for itself. During that unit, we had an in-class exercise about systems of power and oppression, to think about our own positioning with intersectionality in mind, and the way this impacted our power as people and designers.

Olga Klimova, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, Department of Slavic Languages & Literature, for designing the course to create multiple opportunities for students in all four language modalities (reading, listening, writing, and speaking) to engage with authentic Russian language materials that will introduce them to cultural, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic diversity of Russia’s regions and Russian speaking countries. The goal is to assist students with developing a more accurate cultural competence and a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the target culture(s). Dr. Klimova incorporates DEIA and social justice principles in course policies, instructional practices, learning activities, assessments, and grading.

Dr. Klimova’s lessons also addressed important and contemporary social issues, including LGBTQIA+ representation and civil rights and ethnic and religious diversity in the Russophone world. These issues were introduced through authentic resources, like news articles, op-eds, and personal stories addressing marriage equality and gender identity. Dr. Klimova always respected students’ identities, while instructing us on how to navigate these issues in a linguistically appropriate and culturally-sensitive manner.

Joaquin Rodriguez, Swanson School of Engineering, Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, for instituting classroom changes to expand students’ cultural awareness and cross-cultural development and creating a more welcoming and inclusive learning environment for a capstone course for senior students majoring in Chemical Engineering. The goal is to give graduating seniors a broader understanding of their responsibilities and opportunities to care for the planet and develop an extended socio-cultural awareness about other countries and people. Additionally, Dr. Rodgriguez offered opportunities to foster experiences for students to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment by inviting K-12 scholars to consider STEM careers.

The Global project that stands out to me the most was our ChemE 500project about energy poverty inSub-Saharan Africa. We were interested in researching this topic because a few members of the group wanted to go into sustainable energy research for graduate school. Researching into energy poverty in Africa was quite an eye-opening experience for me. Living in America, it is easy to take running water and electricity for granted, and sometimes it can be hard to realize that not everyone is as lucky as us here.

Left to Right: Mike Bridges, James E Egan, Linda DeAngelo, Kurt Beschorner, Abimbola Fapohunda, Jill Demirci, Orquidia Torres, Interim Provost Joe McCarthy, Vice Provost John Wallace.
Left to Right: Mike Bridges, James E Egan, Linda DeAngelo, Kurt Beschorner, Abimbola Fapohunda, Jill Demirci, Orquidia Torres, Interim Provost Joe McCarthy, Vice Provost John Wallace.

The award formally recognizes faculty’s efforts in integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion concepts into their courses and curricula. Congratulations, faculty!


James Egan and Abimbola Fapohunda, Behavioral and Community Health Sciences for creating the course within the recently launched Bachelor of Science program in the School of Public Health. The objective was actively involving students in identifying and critically examining health disparities through lectures, guest speakers, readings, and multimedia resources. Evolving since 2021, the course now integrates a final communication plan for a group presentation. Additionally, the format has shifted to live discussions centered around readings, promoting an environment where students are encouraged to pose questions to one another.

Linda DeAngelo, Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy, for modifying a course to focus on change management within higher education. The shift in emphasis transitioned away from managing change within higher education, lacking equity, justice, and inclusivity. Instead, the approach pivoted from a transactional leadership framework in strategic planning to one with a central focus on equity and inclusion. These adjustments recognize students as active agents of change who prioritize and understand the importance of equity and inclusion.

Jill Demirci, Health Promotion & Development, developed a curriculum on frontloading lactation with an equity focus to offer undergraduate nursing students a practical and low-pressure learning setting. The course introduces fundamental lactation knowledge, fostering critical thinking and enhancing nursing management skills. The goal is to heighten awareness, comfort, and familiarity among students regarding lactation support for diverse patient groups.

Orquidia Torres, Pediatrics, Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, for creating the Antiracism Curriculum (ARC) to increase awareness of racism in child and adolescent health, increase proficiency in trauma-sensitive skills during clinical encounters, and promote anti-racist practices in the workplace. Ongoing adjustments since 2020 have aimed to expand the program’s reach, improve accessibility, and ensure sustainability. Grant funding has been secured for Pediatrics and Internal Medicine to acquire relevant books and remunerate guest speakers. The program has been showcased at national and local conferences through poster abstracts and platform presentations. A manuscript on the program has also been published in the Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development.

Kurt E. Beschorner, Bioengineering, implemented changes to a statistics course by integrating technical content with socially relevant discussions to cultivate a more inclusive and equitable learning environment. The objective is to enhance students’ proficiency in implementing inclusive research design practices. The lectures feature examples illustrating how health inequities can arise from the absence of inclusive research and best practices for conducting inclusive research. This approach aims to foster an environment where engineering students are encouraged to learn and engage more comfortably in discussions related to race and gender.

2021 Winners of the Provost's Award for Diversity in the Curriculum

2021 Recipients of the Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum: Top Row (left to right): Ann Cudd, provost and senior vice chancellor, Alaina James, Paul T. Harper. Bottom Row: Jennifer White, Robert Kerestes, Benjamin Brand.

  • Benjamin Brand, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, German Department, for reframing his course GE 1502 “Indo-European Folktales,” teaching the connection between colonialism and the spread of Indo-European languages. He highlighted marginalized voices in citation practices, practiced mindful and inclusive language, and increased accessibility through electronic texts; auto-captioning; segmented lectures to manage students’ intake load and pace among other inclusive teaching practices.
  • Paul T. Harper, Pitt Business, for designing the course “Race and Business Ethics,” to fulfill a need for a historically informed and culturally embedded approach to moral theory, management decision making, and leadership development.
  • Alaina James, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, for reformatting the dermatology course “Skin and Musculoskeletal Disease,” to include a skin color gradient of images with white, brown, and black skin colors. She highlights (in lectures/small group discussions) the significant visual differences of skin conditions in patients based on their constitutive skin color and how the lack of representation impacts knowledge, diagnosis, and treatment leading to negative patient outcomes.
  • Robert Kerestes, Swanson School of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, for making changes to the Electromagnetics course to provide a more engaging environment using three aspects: teamwork, gamification, and diversity and inclusion practices.
  • Jennifer White, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy, for challenging students across five courses to be inclusive of the diverse spectrum of people they will be serving in the future through (1) assigning case studies of clients with specific clinical conditions from cultural and socioeconomic different from the students, (2) guest speakers who shared lived experiences with a range of physical conditions, addressing ableism and giving students perspective on creating an inclusive environment as future occupational therapists, (3) assessing student learning of high-level course concepts in application, analysis, and evaluation (e.g. practice use of pronouns according to a client’s gender expression), and (4) using technology to create animated case studies incorporating DEI concepts.

The Office of the Provost and the University Center for Teaching and Learning would like to congratulate the recipients of Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum for 2020:

Thomas Akiva
Thomas Akiva
Kayla Booth
Kayla Booth
Zsuzsa Horvath
Zsuzsa Horvath
Christine Wankiiri-Hale
Christine Wankiiri-Hale
Lauren Jonkman
Lauren Jonkman
Andrew McCormick
Andrew McCormick
Dara Mendez
Dara Mendez
  • Thomas Akiva, School of Education, for making equity and anti-racism a central focus in the EdD program’s on-ramp course and subsequently, in the entire EdD program.
  • Kayla Booth, School of Computing and Information, for enhancements to the iSchool Inclusion Institute, which is a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative that prepares students from underrepresented populations for graduate study and careers in information and computing.
  • Zsuzsa Horvath and Christine Wankiiri-Hale, School of Dental Medicine, for guiding students in the development of curricular content for the module “When the Appointment is No Longer about Dentistry,” to help students address microaggressions and prepare them to handle and respond to inappropriate patient comments and behaviors in a culturally sensitive manner.
  • Lauren Jonkman, School of Pharmacy, for integrating social justice and health equity into the Population Health and Management core course in the PharmD curriculum, to ensure that all students have the knowledge and skills to identify and address inequities.
  • Andrew McCormick and Dara Mendez, Schools of Medicine and Public Health, for enhancing Clinical Experience courses for first-year students by introducing a book club which explored the history and ongoing practice of racism within medicine.

The award formally recognizes faculty’s efforts in integrating diversity and inclusion concepts into their course and curriculum. In addition, the following 27 individuals were honored at the ceremony for their work in creating Pitt’s course, Anti-Black Racism: History, Ideology and Resistance, which launched during the fall 2020 term. Congratulations!

Diversity Awards 2020: Anti-Back Racism Faculty & Staff

Provost's Award for Diversity in the Curriculum Winners - 2019

Back row, from left: Laurie Kirsch, vice provost for faculty affairs, development, and diversity, Lori Delale-O’Connor, Karen Gilmer, Chandralekha Singh and Kevin Binning. Front row, from left: Tuangtip Klinbubpa-Neff; Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Ann E. Cudd; Erica McGreevy; Paula K. Davis, assistant vice chancellor for health sciences diversity in the School of Health Sciences; and Cynthia Golden, associate vice provost, executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. (Aimee Obidzinski/University of Pittsburgh)

The Office of the Provost and the University Center for Teaching and Learning would like to congratulate the recipients of Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum for 2019:

  • Karen Gilmer, Department of Theatre Arts, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
  • Tuangtip Klinbubpa-Neff, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
  • Lori Delale-O’Connor, Center for Urban Education, School of Education
  • Kevin Binning, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
  • Erica McGreevy, Department of Biological Sciences, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
  • Chandralekha Singh, Discipline-based Science Education Research Center, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

The award formally recognizes faculty’s efforts in integrating diversity and inclusion concepts into their course and curriculum. Congratulations, faculty!

Provost Awards Winners - 2018

From left: Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Ann Cudd, Audrey Murrell, Ray Jones, Michael Goodhart, Lorin Grieve, Christine Dahlin, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Development, and Diversity Laurie Kirsch and University Center for Teaching and Learning Director Cynthia Golden

The Office of the Provost and the University Center for Teaching and Learning would like to congratulate the winners of Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum for 2018:

  • Valire Carr Copeland, School of Social Work
  • Ray Jones and Audrey Murrell, Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration
  • Christine Dahlin, Division of Natural Sciences, Pitt–Johnstown
  • Michael Goodhart, Department of Political Science, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences
  • Lorin Grieve, Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy

The award formally recognizes faculty’s efforts in integrating diversity and inclusion concepts into their course and curriculum. Congratulations, faculty!

Provost's Award for Diversity in the Curriculum 2017 winners

Pictured left to right: Cynthia Golden, Director, University Center for Teaching and Learning; Laurie Kirsch, Vice Provost for Faculty Development; Julie Beaulieu, Elizabeth Harkins, Melinda Ciccocioppo, Marnie Bertolet, Abdesalam Soudi, Patricia Beeson, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor.

The Office of the Provost and the University Center for Teaching and Learning would like to congratulate the recipients of Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum for 2017:

  • Dr. Julie Beaulieu, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program
  • Dr. Elizabeth Harkins, Pitt Johnstown, Division of Education
  • Dr. Melinda Ciccocioppo, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology
  • Dr. Marnie Bertolet, Graduate School of Public Health, Dept. of Epidemiology
  • Dr. Abdesalam Soudi, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Linguistics

The award formally recognizes faculty’s efforts in integrating diversity and inclusion concepts into their course and curriculum. Congratulations, faculty!

Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum

The Award

The Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum recognizes a faculty member’s efforts to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) concepts into courses and curricula at the University of Pittsburgh.

Up to five award recipients may be chosen annually. Each recipient receives a $2,500 cash award and a recognition plaque. All recipients are recognized at the annual diversity awards ceremony.

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The Award

The Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum recognizes a faculty member’s efforts to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) concepts into courses and curricula at the University of Pittsburgh.

Up to five award recipients may be chosen annually. Each recipient receives a $2,500 cash award and a recognition plaque. All recipients are recognized at the annual diversity awards ceremony.

Information Session and Q&A for the Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum

If you were unable to attend the information session on Sept. 27, you can review the slides that were presented as well as watch a recording of the event with the links below:

Evidence of Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion

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. These modifications may include such approaches as employing more inclusive and interactive teaching methods, instituting classroom changes to expand students’ cultural awareness and cross-cultural development, communicating equity-minded practices throughout a discipline, or creating more welcoming and inclusive learning environments. Changes can be made in face-to-face, hybrid and online learning environments.

Eligibility

Any full-time or part-time Pitt faculty member at the University may apply for this award. Faculty must have taught the modified course or revised curricula and assessed the impact of those modifications within the last three years.

Previous recipients are not eligible.

Applications

Faculty members applying for this award must submit a dossier of materials about the course or curricular changes that were made within the last three years.

  1. Submit a narrative report (maximum of three pages) with:
    • Course/curriculum title.
    • The term(s) and year(s) when modifications were implemented.
    • The number of students impacted by modifications.
    • Goals and objectives of modifications.
    • Description of modifications to course or curriculum.
    • Description of impact of modifications on:
      • your students (e.g., student learning, student engagement, student satisfaction, etc.)
      • your teaching (e.g., teaching practice, teaching philosophy, teaching identity, etc.)
  1. Instructional Artifacts: include up to three instructional artifacts from the course/curriculum (e.g. syllabi, lesson plans, visuals, etc.) as evidence of the diversity/inclusion changes.
  2. Letter of support: a letter of support from your dean, campus president, department chair or an associate/assistant dean, faculty colleague.
  3. Student Letters of support: submit up to four from students who were enrolled in the course, describing the impact of the modified course or revised curriculum.

Selection Procedures

The awards committee, appointed by the provost, will evaluate the applications, and make final recommendations to the provost. Applications for the 2024 award will begin in fall term 2024.

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