Past Events

Considering graduate school? Preparing your application materials? Join us as Pitt graduate program experts from the School of Public Health, GSPIA, Economics, History, and Asian Studies share expertise on crafting strong applications. Learn tips on writing effective personal statements, securing letter writers, and submitting desired credentials. Ask individual questions to admissions professionals at the breakout session. Dr. Kevin Broom, Director of MHA and MHA/MBA Programs, Vice Chair, Associate Professor, Pitt Public Health
Dr. Emily Rook-Koepsel, Asst. Director for Academic Affairs, UCIS Asian Studies Center
Dr.Michel Gobat , Director of Graduate Studies, Associate Professor of History
Dr. Daniele Coen-Pirani, Director of Graduate Studies, Professor of Economics
TBA Admissions Professional, GSPIA Don’t miss out on an opportunity to hear from the experts. Click the link below to secure a spot today! https://signup.com/go/iWjtzbK

The Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES) and the Study Abroad Office (SAO) in collaboration with the Pittsburgh-based global service-learning organization Amizade propose to bring together community organizers and nonprofit leaders with University of Pittsburgh faculty and students for a public forum themed “Water Is Life." The thematic concentration on water reflects the contemporary significance of the topic, which invites inquiry from a regional and global perspective. Water is at the core of human and environmental existence. It underpins food and energy security, sustainable development, and healthy ecosystems while being the cornerstone for adaptation to climate change. Integral to sanitation, water is critical for reducing disease and enhancing the health, education, and economic resilience of communities. Water is also a human rights and social justice issue. As the global population grows, there is an increasing need to address structural inequalities that empower certain communities at the expense of others and privilege the growing commercial demand on water resources over social inclusion. To explore regional and global challenges to water equity, the forum will connect University of Pittsburgh faculty and students with Amizade community organizers from Pittsburgh’s Hill District, the Pine Ridge Reservation (South Dakota), and Brazil’s Amazon region along with nonprofit leaders at the World Aral Region Charity that works in Uzbekistan’s Khorezm Region and the EcoSoap Bank, which focuses on improving sanitation and hygiene education in Subsaharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The forum will commence with initial introductions and will be followed by an open discussion structured with the help of pre-circulated questions, concluding with a Q&A with the audience. John Stoner (Moderator) is the Executive Director for Academic Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for International Studies. Previously, he has served as the Director for Undergraduate Studies and Senior Lecturer at the Department of History teaching and researching in his fields of expertise, notably modern South Africa, twentieth century U.S. labor and foreign relations, and transnational history of the Cold War. Keller Allen is the Assistant Director of the Pine Ridge Agricultural Initiative and is Amizade’s Site Director for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Keller is a father, husband, craftsman, massage therapist, yoga instructor, educator, community organizer and indigenous rights advocate with experience founding and managing cooperative businesses. Keller holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics from the College of Charleston and a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Dance/Movement Therapy from Antioch University New England. Keller and his family have lived and worked among their adopted Lakota family on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation since 2012. James Cross is Council Representative to the Oglala Sioux Government at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. John Matthias Brown has been working in community development for the past 35 years. He is the founder of the 25-year old Petersfield Sports & Community Club (PSCC) which he served as President for the first 2 years. Three years later, he co-founded the old Association of Community Based Organizations Ltd (AOCBO), formerly Association of Clubs (AOC), which is the umbrella organization for seven community-based organizations in the parish of Westmoreland, Jamaica. Through Mr. Brown’s commitment, influence and guidance, the AOC won the 2007 and 2012 Michael Manley Award for Community Self Reliance which is one of the most prestigious awards in Jamaica. Mr. Brown also serves in his parish as a Justice of the Peace. He sits as Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and as Community Representative on numerous school boards and organization committees. He takes pleasure in counseling young people to help them boost their self-esteem and ways to work harder towards achieving their goals. As Amizade’s Site Director in Brazil since 2004, he has taken pleasure in guiding young people and has overseen service-learning placements in clean water initiatives, community building projects and youth education programs in Santarém city at the confluence of the Tapajós and Amazon Rivers. Robert Denovich Willard currently pursues his Bachelor of Arts degree in Slavic Studies and Economics Columbia University. He also serves the President of the World Aral Region Charity, a non-for-profit organization working with communities in Central Asia against the devastating disappearance of the Aral Sea—the fourth largest land-bound body of water in the world, now 10% of its original size. With branches at Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania alongside those in Albany and Uzbekistan, the World Aral Region Charity aims to represent a new outlet for aid in a region often overlooked by the global community. In partnership with local towns and programs in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan, the Charity works to address challenges to food security, public health, and economic and environmental sustainability. Samir Lakhani is a social entrepreneur dedicated to restoring health and dignity to developing countries. Before founding Eco-Soap Bank in 2014, Samir was deeply involved in aquaculture and nutrition projects in northern Cambodian villages. He has also developed solar lighting solution projects in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Through his six years of nonprofit work in the areas of nutrition, water accessibility, and sanitation/hygiene, he has witnessed firsthand how delivering key products like soap transform the health and well-being of impoverished communities. Samir received a CNN Heroes Award for Eco-Soap Bank in 2017 and a Unilever Young Entrepreneurs award in 2018. He also recently gave a TEDx Talk. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

The European Studies Center, the Global Studies Center, and the University Center for International Studies, with the support of the Office of the Provost and the Year of Pitt Global Initiative at the University of Pittsburgh, in partnership with Global Voice and the Workable World Trust, will host the Second Annual Global Town Hall Meeting on UN and Global Governance Reform on Thursday 19 September to Friday 20 September 2019. The theme for the discussion will be “Climate, Gender, and Sustainable Development: Local to Global”. In this two-day event, discussions will focus on the need to think synthetically about climate change, gender equity, and sustainable development in reimagining an agenda for global governance reform and reconfiguring citizen activism for social justice. Schedule:
Thursday, 19 September 2019: Opening Lecture for Global Town Hall - Humanities Center, Cathedral of Learning
5:30 pm –Paulo Magalhães, “Common Home of Humanity: Creating the Legal Environment to Meet Climate and Nature Emergencies” Friday, 20 September 2019 – Connelly Ballroom, Alumni Hall (The Livestream will begin promptly at 9 a.m.) 8:30 am - check-in - vegan muffins and coffee 9:00am – Welcome
9:30am – Overview: The Road to 2020 – Earl James, Global Voice 10:00am – Expert Panel Plenary: Gender, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development (moderated by Ariel Armony, Vice Provost for Global Affairs, Pitt) - Livestreamed · Paulo Magalhães, Common Home of Humanity
· anupama jain, City of Pittsburgh Gender Equity Commission
· Katharina Schulze, Green Party Member, State Parliament, Bavaria, Germany
· Raquel Lagunas, Gender Mainstreaming Advisor in the Gender Team in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, United Nations Development Program 12:00pm – Lunch (free to the first 100 people to register)
1:00 pm - Keynote Address : Wanjira Mathai, wPower and Green Belt Movement (Livestreamed) 2:00pm – Breakout Sessions
· Economics of Sustainability with Paulo Magalhães, Aurora Sharrard (Director of Sustainability, University of Pittsburgh), moderator: Michaël Aklin
· Security with Richard Ponzio (Stimson Center), Grant Ervin (Chief Resilience Officer, City of Pittsburgh), moderator: Burcu Savun
· Gender and Development with Raquel Lagunas and anupama jain; moderator: Muge Finkel
· Climate Action and Social Justice with Nora Löhle (Program Director, Energy and Environment, Heinrich Böll Foundation) and Katharina Schulze, moderator: Michael Goodhart
3:30pm – Break - coffee and vegan cookies 4:00pm – Global Town Hall and Public Discussion of Next Steps (Connelly Ballroom and via Livestream) Co-sponsors:
Heinrich-Böll Stiftung
Department of Political Science
Center for International Legal Education
African Studies Program
Department of Geology
GSPIA
Office of the Provost
Gender, Sexuality, and Women Studies Program

Join us for the Latino Leaders Gathering: Building Prosperity Through Partnership September 18, 2019
4 - 6 p.m.
4130 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
University of Pittsburgh Speakers include representatives from: Pitt Global, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Hispanic/Latinx Professional Association, and the Latinx Student Association. Light food an drink will be provided. Free parking at Soldiers and Sailors.

Pre-Law School Internship with Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. Chat with Global Studies Center Alum, Verna Krishnamurthy, (University of Pittsburgh '12 and University of Pennsylvania Law School '15) about program for students interested in law: The Project Analyst program is a two-year post-graduation program which allows college graduates interested in different areas of corporate law to work with attorneys on different projects and learn about the inner workings of a large law firm. This is a great opportunity for graduates planning on attending law school in the future. Though many Project Analysts have gone on to attend law school, the program's alumni have also enjoyed careers in areas such as banking, medicine, journalism, and consulting. Learn how to submit a competitive application from insider. https://www.mintz.com/careers/professional-staff/project-analyst-program

PITTSBURGH—The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at the University of Pittsburgh’s University Center for International Studies will be hosting the 39th Annual Latin American and Caribbean Festival from noon to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, 2019 in the Galleria, and Patio of Wesley W. Posvar Hall, 230 South Bouquet Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213. Beginning at noon, the festival will feature Latin American and Caribbean food, arts, crafts, and information on local and regional organizations. Latin American vendors also will offer handmade and authentic Latin American products. Music and dance performances from Latin America and the Caribbean will take place throughout the day. Since its inception, the festival has showcased the diversity of Latin American and Caribbean cultures by combining the resources of CLAS with people of Latin American heritage. The growth of Pittsburgh's Latin American and Latino populations has made the festival one of the largest gatherings of these communities in Western Pennsylvania.

Emerging Latino Communities Reading and Publishing Group 1154 Public Health
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. April 12 The Center for Health Equity, with the support of the Center for Latin American Studies, invites you to explore 1) the problems Latinos in small yet rapidly growing populations face, and 2) how to solve those problems. We will read articles and offer feedback to those who are writing manuscripts. We hope to get new writing and research collaborations going! Open to all interested: students, faculty, staff, and practitioners from Pitt and beyond. We will meet over coffee and light snacks in a relaxed atmosphere. If you want to get extra network time, we will be there 30 before and after the meeting time. For more information, visit healthequity.pitt.edu or e-mail Chantel Durrant cjd13@pitt.edu