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 who has participated in diversity initiatives at the University may apply for this award. Please encourage faculty who have embraced inclusive teaching practices to submit an application. The deadline for applications is Nov. 13.

Provost Ann E. Cudd will moderate a faculty panel discussion at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, that explores some of the pedagogical approaches, technologies, and modifications currently in use on our campuses. Join us for this one-hour panel that discusses teaching successes in the Flex@Pitt instructional model. Panelists include:

• Joanne Baird, PhD, Department of Occupational Therapy
• Kristen Butela, PhD, Department of Biological Sciences
• David Sanchez, PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Gabby Yearwood, PhD, Department of Anthropology

On Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, the University of Pittsburgh’s Pittsburgh campus is planning to move from Elevated to Guarded Risk Posture. This decision, which is based on the recommendations of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the Healthcare Advisory Group (HCAG), is dependent on the continuation of good results next week. The University plans to release more details on its move to Guarded Risk Posture—and the accompanying changes to academic and social life on campus—in the near future. Requirements and guidance that remain in place in Guarded Risk Posture include:

• Wearing face coverings, indoors and out, with very few exceptions.
• Maintaining a proper physical distance of 6 feet or more from others.
• Washing or sanitizing hands frequently.
• Minimizing the number of close contacts outside of roommates, pods and households.

Bits and bytes from around campus:

• Read about how faculty and students are adjusting to the Flex@Pitt model in last week’s Pittwire article.
• Chancellor Patrick Gallagher addressed challenges and successes of the past year during the Sept. 25 fall meeting of the Board of Trustees.
• The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine announced today that it is operating one of 25 initial sites to test therapies aimed at treating early-stage COVID-19 to keep the illness from becoming severe.
• Pitt IT has released information on a new way for students, faculty, and advisors to access student information ahead of spring 2021 course enrollment.

We are pleased to announce that University of Pittsburgh on Coursera is now available. This program allows Pitt students, faculty, and staff to access nearly 4,000 courses offered by Coursera partner institutions at no cost. The courses are non-credit, but successful completion could earn joint credentials from both the universities offering the course and Coursera. The program was designed by the Coursera community to assist colleges and universities with delivering courseware online to help minimize the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on students, faculty and staff. For more information on how to enroll, please visit Pitt Online's page on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

Requests for fall midterm course surveys increased 60 percent from the spring 2020 term. Thank you to all faculty who have requested this service through the Office of Measurement and Evaluation of Teaching (OMET). Key Dates:

• Sept. 21-27: Surveys will be available to students.
• Sept. 29: Results will be available to instructors through the Teaching Survey dashboard.