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Academic Accolades

Cathedral of Learning in the reflection of Hillman Library

March 3, 2026

16 faculty honored with 2026 Chancellor’s Distinguished Awards

Sixteen Pitt faculty members have earned the 2026 Chancellor’s Distinguished Awards for exemplifying excellence in public service, research and teaching.

Jason Deakings

February 26, 2026

Deakings made the New Pittsburgh Courier 40 Under 40 list

Jason Deakings, assistant professor in the School of Public Health, was named to the New Pittsburgh Courier’s Fab 40 Under 40 list for 2026.

Cathedral of Learning

February 17, 2026

School of Medicine student made the Pittsburgh Business Times 30 Under 30 list

Benjamin Leslie, current student in the School of Medicine, was named to the Pittsburgh Business Times’ 30 Under 30 list.

Alissa Klots

January 27, 2026

Klots won two prizes for her first book

Alissa Klots, associate professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, earned two awards for her book, “Domestic Service in the Soviet Union: Women’s Emancipation and the Gendered Hierarchy of Labor,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2024.

Pitt flag hanging on a lightpole

January 15, 2026

Manuck honored by the American Psychological Association

For the first time, the American Psychological Association has awarded one of the most prestigious awards in psychological science to a faculty member in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychology.

Panther statue

January 13, 2026

9 Pitt affiliates were named New Pittsburgh Courier Women of Excellence

Sarah Ashmeg, clinical assistant professor in the School of Medicine, Kyaien Conner, director of the Center on Race and Social Problems, and Tiffany Gary-Webb, associate director of the Center for Health Equity, were named to the 2025 class.

John Kellum

December 11, 2025

Kellum elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors

John Kellum, Distinguished Professor of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has been elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

Cathedral of Learning

December 11, 2025

8 Pitt undergraduates earned Gilman Scholarships

Eight University of Pittsburgh undergraduates have been awarded Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships for the October 2025 application cycle.

Grace Kenney

November 11, 2025

Kenney won a New Investigator Grant

Grace Kenney, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, has received a New Investigator Grant from the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation. These grants are awarded to researchers at the beginning of their independent careers who are pursuing basic scientific research.

Justin Kitzes

November 4, 2025

Kitzes won a Bezos Earth Fund AI Grand Challenge grant

Justin Kitzes, an associate professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biological Sciences, was part of a team selected as one of 15 global awardees in the Bezos Earth Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge.

Scaife Hall

October 21, 2025

3 Pitt faculty elected to the National Academy of Medicine

John Byrd, Terence Dermody, and Kate Rubins, faculty in the School of Medicine, have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Fall leaves in front of the Cathedral of Learning

October 2, 2025

7 Pitt faculty earned Dr. Larry E. Davis Awards

The annual celebration recognizes Pitt faculty whose achievements reflect the late Davis’ vision for mentorship, academic excellence and public service.

Caitlin Bruce

September 30, 2025

Bruce won a National Communication Association book award

Caitlin Bruce, an associate professor in the Department of Communication, has earned national recognition for her scholarship exploring youth culture and graffiti as public expression.

Pitt’s ACS Student Affiliates group

September 25, 2025

Pitt student group earned American Chemical Society honors

The American Chemical Society (ACS) recognized Pitt’s ACS Student Affiliates group with two awards for 2024-25: the Outstanding ACS Student Communities Award and the Green Chemistry Award. 

George Reid Andrews

September 9, 2025

Andrews honored by the Conference on Latin American History

George Reid Andrews, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of History, has been honored with the Conference on Latin American History (CLAH) Distinguished Service Award.

Alexander Deiters

August 21, 2025

Deiters earned an American Chemical Society award

Alexander Deiters, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, was awarded a 2026 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Dave Newman

August 21, 2025

Newman won the Pushcart Prize for his short story

Dave Newman, assistant professor of creative and professional writing, was awarded a Pushcart Prize for his story, “The Last Thing That Happened Before I Became A Med Tech.”

Marianne Novy

August 18, 2025

Novy won an International Impact Award for Biography

Marianne Novy, Professor Emerita of English and Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, received an International Impact Award for Biography--Unsung Heroes and Everyday Lives and Family--Adoption and Foster Care for her recent book, Adoption Memoirs: Inside Stories.

Jonathan Rubin

August 14, 2025

Rubin will lead a new Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics journal

Jonathan Rubin, a professor in the Department of Mathematics, is the founding editor-in-chief for the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics’ newest applied mathematics journal.

The Education & Training Center at Pitt-Titusville.

August 7, 2025

Pitt-Titusville student received a Nightingale Scholarship

Spencer Riley, a second-year nursing student at the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, was selected to receive the associate degree in nursing scholarship from the Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania.

Cathedral of Learning.

July 15, 2025

Libertus selected for a Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society fellowship

Melissa Libertus, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, was named to an inaugural cohort with the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society.

Summer plants in front of the Cathedral of Learning.

July 10, 2025

Ashman earned the Botanical Society of America’s highest honor

Distinguished Professor of Evolution and Ecology Tia-Lynn Ashman has been named a distinguished fellow of the Botanical Society of America.

Olivera Finn and others

June 24, 2025

Finn awarded the PNC Elsie Hillman Distinguished Scholar Award

Olivera J. Finn, Distinguished Professor of Immunology and Surgery at the School of Medicine, was presented with the 2025 PNC Elsie Hillman Distinguished Scholar Award for her decades of research in immunology and groundbreaking work on developing a vaccine to prevent several human cancers, including breast cancer. 

Headshots of the 12 scholarship winners

June 10, 2025

Meet Pitt’s incoming class of Chancellor’s scholars

Pitt has awarded the Chancellor’s Scholarship, one of the University’s most prestigious undergraduate awards, to 12 incoming first-year students. The awardees, who hail from Wisconsin, Georgia, Maryland and beyond, will begin their studies in fall 2025.

Panther statue

June 10, 2025

3 Pitt faculty named Fulbright scholars

Three University of Pittsburgh faculty members have received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Awards from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Fountain in front of the Cathedral of Learning

June 3, 2025

Engel was honored by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging

Ray Engel, an associate professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging.

Paula Orozco-Espinel

May 29, 2025

PhD candidate received a Newcombe Fellowship

Paula Orozco-Espinel, a doctoral candidate in Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has been named a Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship recipient.

Cathedral of Learning

May 22, 2025

16 Pitt undergraduates were named Gilman scholars

This competitive national honor enables undergraduates with limited financial means to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to the United States’ national security and economic prosperity. 

Christian Knox

May 22, 2025

PhD student received a Department of Energy research award

Christian Knox, a third-year chemistry PhD student in the University of Pittsburgh Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has been selected to the Department of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program.

Graham Hatfull

May 20, 2025

Hatfull elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society

Graham Hatfull, Eberly Family Professor of Biotechnology and HHMI Professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of sciences and an organization of international scholars.