Alberta Sbragia, Director, 1984-2010
Alberta M. Sbragia is Vice Provost and Professor of Political Science. She is an expert on European Union politics and political economy.
Sbragia earned her undergraduate degree from Holy Names College in Oakland, California, and spent her junior year in France studying at the Université de Paris (Sorbonne). She received her MA and PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which included a year of research in Italy as a Fulbright Fellow.
Following completion of her PhD, Sbragia joined Pitt’s faculty and taught American and European urban politics and policy. From 1983-1984 she was visiting associate professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration. In 1984 the University asked her to develop and direct the West European Studies Center. From 1993 to 1995 Sbragia chaired the European Union Studies Association (EUSA), the field’s premier scholarly association, and based its headquarters at Pitt. In 1998 she founded the University’s European Union Center, one of the original 10 centers in the United States funded by the European Commission, that was named a European Union Center of Excellence in 2005.
Sbragia has been recognized as a scholar, teacher, and mentor internationally and within the University. The European Union named her in 2005 Jean Monnet Chair ad personam in recognition of her teaching and research related to the European Union; in 2013, EUSA conferred on her its Award for Lifetime Achievement in European Studies. At Pitt, Sbragia was the inaugural holder of the Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg University Chair from 2006-2010, awarded the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring in 2013, and is presently University Center for International Studies Research Professor.
In addition to the European Union, Sbragia’s areas of expertise center on comparing the European Union and the United States, comparative politics, comparative regionalism, and comparative federalism. Among her several books, numerous book chapters, and scholarly articles are Euro-Politics: Politics and Policymaking in the ‘New’ European Community and Debt Wish: Entrepreneurial Cities, US Federalism, and Economic Development. She has also presented and given more than 200 papers and speeches around the globe, in addition to teaching in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and China.
Visit the Department of Political Science website.
Visit the Office of the Provost website.
The Alberta Sbragia Fund for Graduate European Studies was established in 2011 in honor of Dr. Sbragia’s commitment to education and mentoring of young scholars. University of Pittsburgh graduate students – currently ABD – are eligible to apply for dissertation assistance, research or publication support, or travel to and research in relevant European countries. Learn more about applying.
If you wish to leave a message for Dr. Sbragia, submit your comments to the Alberta Sbragia Message Wall. All submitted messages will be collected and presented in a bound volume for Dr. Sbragia as a keepsake from the Symposium in Honor of Alberta Sbragia.
Donate to the Alberta Sbragia Fund. Under “Gift Information” write in “Alberta Sbragia Fund” in the Other category and then indicate the amount you wish to pledge.