Jim Earle, associate vice chancellor for business and auxiliary services in Business and Operations, has been appointed to the position of associate dean for strategic development and operations in the School of Dental Medicine beginning April 1.

He has held key roles at the University for the past 26 years, including leadership positions in both business and auxiliary services and athletics. 

"A trusted, knowledgeable and insightful leader, Pitt Dental Medicine will benefit from Jim's incredible leadership," said Senior Vice Chancellor for Business and Operations Greg Scott.

During his 15 years in business and auxiliary services, Earle’s teams have worked hard to advance the University’s mission and count accomplishments that include:

• Initiated and funded more than $200 million in housing construction and renovation projects
• Increased the number of on-campus beds for undergraduate students by 2,000 since 2004 adding Panther, K. Leroy Irvis and Mark A. Nordenberg halls, as well as an expansion to Bouquet Gardens and conversion of Ruskin Hall to undergraduate housing 
• Renovated the Schenley Quad to make it a student-friendly space
• Developed and launched the Forbes Street Market grocery store
• Introduced the Choose to Reuse program to promote the use of reusable containers
• Secured four electric box trucks to campus, initiating the use and expansion of electric vehicles in addition to expanding EV charging stations on campus to support our commitment to sustainability
• Renovated the University Store on Fifth and Maggie & Stella’s, driving retail sales through enhanced guest experiences

Earle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Miami University of Ohio and a Master of Business Administration and Doctorate of Education degrees from the University of Pittsburgh.

He looks forward to continuing his dedicated service to the University and working with faculty members, staff and students to take the School of Dental Medicine to new heights.

Lisa S. Parker and Robert M. Arnold were recently elected fellows to The Hastings Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of research scholars studying ethical questions in medicine, science and technology that help inform policy, practice and public understanding. They are two of 12 newly elected fellows recognized for their outstanding accomplishments informing scholarship and public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, science and technology.

Parker is the Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote Professor of Bioethics at Pitt, where she directs the Center for Bioethics and Health Law. She is also a professor of human genetics in Pitt's Graduate School of Public Health.

Arnold is a distinguished service professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and chief of the section of palliative care and medical ethics at Pitt. He also is a member of the Center for Bioethics and Health Law where he coordinates the clinical ethics education programs.

Pitt Jazz Studies Director Nicole Mitchell has been named a 2020 United States Artists (USA) Fellow—an honor accompanied by a $50,000 cash award to use as she wishes. She is one of 50 national artists across 10 disciplines to win the award this year. 

“I was driving when I got the phone call and became so flustered I had to pull the car over,” Mitchell said with a laugh, recalling the day she received the news.

In making the announcement, USA President and CEO Deanna Haggag said of this year’s fellows: “Each and every one of them stands out as a visionary influence in their respective field.” 

Mitchell took up the position of Jazz Studies director in January 2019. 

She is a member of the We Have Voice Collective, a national group of musicians, performers and scholars who draw attention to inequity in the music industry. On Jan. 17, three other collective members joined her at Pitt’s Bellefield Auditorium for a panel discussion and concert, a premiere performance for collective members. She also is collaborating in Pitt’s K. Leroy Irvis Black History Month Program in late February and with Manchester Craftsman’s Guild for student workshops this spring. Mitchell is also looking into a community-focused Jazz and Creative Music Intensive for women and girls.

As far as the USA award, Mitchell is again thinking about helping emerging artists.

“I feel really humbled by this and want to use it to make impact,” she said. “My dream would be to use part of it to create a new grant program for artists who are just at the edge of doing great things.”

Physical Therapist Debra Voss has joined the research team at the Physical Therapy-Clinical and Translational Research Center (PT-CTRC) in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Voss has more than 25 years of physical therapy experience, primarily in outpatient orthopedics, and has worked extensively in the area of hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.

Voss attended Marietta College for athletic training and East Carolina University for physical therapy.

Brooke Klatt has joined the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) as an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy. Klatt has 14 years of clinical experience treating patients with balance and vestibular disorders; her research interest is in optimization of vestibular and balance rehabilitation interventions for people with visuospatial deficits.

Klatt received her BS in kinesiology from Pennsylvania State University, DPT from New York University and PhD in rehabilitation science from Pitt SHRS. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.

Pitt Sustainability director Aurora Sharrard has been named to a two-year term on the advisory council of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. 

Established in 2005, AASHE is comprised of over 900 members in 20 countries worldwide. The organization’s mission is to inspire and catalyze higher education to lead the global sustainability transformation.

An article published online earlier this month in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin is one of the first studies to examine the reasons people post pictures of themselves with significant others on online profiles. It’s a well-known and widely-practiced behavior—but the motivations behind the behavior, and its consequences, have received limited research attention until now. 

“There are lay theories that people don’t really think about what they post online, that they just post whatever pops into their head at any given time and that they’re not really thoughtful about the long-term effects of those things,” said Kori Krueger (pictured), a graduate student in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts Sciences’ Department of Psychology and the paper’s first author. “Our findings suggest that there may be a more strategic reason that some people post couple photos, display their relationship status and mention their romantic partner in social media posts” said Amanda Forest, a faculty member in psychology, Krueger’s advisor and co-author on the paper. Forest’s work looks at interpersonal communication and close relationships. 

“It really seems to be a way to protect your relationship from outside interference,” Krueger said.

The University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security announced the creation of the Pittsburgh Task Force on Public Algorithms on Jan. 22, 2020. The task force, convened with support from The Heinz Endowments, is a coalition of researchers, educators, community service providers and public and private sector stakeholders that seeks to establish best practices and practical guidelines for the use of municipal decision-making algorithms. The task force is supported by an advisory panel featuring representatives from Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh.

The group will use a combination of community outreach meetings and public comments posted on its website to assess county residents’ major concerns with municipal decision-making algorithms. In summer 2021, it will publish a full report of its research and recommendations for best practices for the technology.

“Increasingly, algorithms are being used to facilitate efficient government. We need to ensure that historical discrimination and existing inequities are not reinforced,” said Pitt Cyber Founding Director and Task Force Chair David Hickton (pictured). “Pittsburgh should lead the way in effective and fair oversight of these systems. We can be a national model, ensuring algorithmic accountability and equity for all residents.”

The University Center for Teaching and Learning recognized Charline Rowland, teaching consultant; Mark Vehec, web developer; Robin Albright, senior instructional designer; and Tahirah Walker, manager, Teaching Support for earning its 2019 Advancing Educational Excellence award.

The annual honor is a peer-driven award that recognizes Teaching Center staff members who exemplify the values of the center, demonstrate a positive attitude and commitment to responsibilities and make above-and-beyond contributions to the University.