History and Achievements

History & Achievements

A log cabin on the frontier became the setting of a great undertaking. We opened new doors for science, technology, medicine and humanity. Medical firsts, including the world’s first polio vaccine and heart-liver transplant, saved lives. Pitt people have included great thinkers, leaders, artists, sports legends and those who broke racial and gender barriers, all striving for something greater.

Nonstop Since 1787

Founded in 1787 as the Pittsburgh Academy, Pitt is one of the nation's oldest institutions of higher education. Pitt people defeated polio, unlocked the secrets of DNA, led the world in organ transplantation, and pioneered TV and heavier-than-air flight.

Pitt History Timeline

Documenting Pitt

Reinvention Never Stops

Today, the University of Pittsburgh is a state-related research university. Pitt is a member of the Association of American Universities, which comprises 64 preeminent doctorate-granting research institutions in North America.

Plan for Pitt

Campus Planning

Driven to be Greater

We excel on many frontiers. Nobel laureates, Pulitzer-prize winners, CEOs, governors, inventors, Gold medalists, and human rights pioneers began their journeys here. In many cases, they created their own paths instead of following conventional ones. In all cases, their setbacks fueled something greater for them and for us.

University Fact Book

No. 1 Public in Northeast

No. 1 Public in Northeast In 2021, the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings again named the Pittsburgh campus as the No. 1 public university in the Northeastern United States.

9th in Federal Science Funding

9th in Federal Science Funding Pitt ranks ninth nationally in federal science and engineering funding, according the National Science Foundation.

5th in Faculty NIH Grants

5th in Faculty NIH Grants Pitt ranks fifth among U.S. universities in competitive grants awarded to members of its faculty by the National Institutes of Health.

No. 20 Public in the U.S.

No. 20 Public in the U.S. Pitt is No. 20 among the nation's top public colleges and universities in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.

Impact Through Innovation

Impact Through Innovation In 2019, Reuters ranked Pitt 52th on its list of the world's 100 most innovative universities, based on such criteria as research output and patent filings.

LGBTQ+ Friendly

LGBTQ+ Friendly For the fourth consecutive year, Pitt in 2020 was named a Best College for LGBTQ+ students by Best Colleges, in partnership with the nonprofit organization Campus Pride.

Top Fulbright Producer

Top Fulbright Producer According to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 14 students from Pitt won Fulbright scholarships in 2019.

Top 3% Global Ranking

Top 3% Global Ranking U.S. News & World Report ranks Pitt 47th on its list of the best global universities. The publication collected data from 1,500 institutions in the United States and 80 other countries.

University Fact Book

In the Very Top

A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Pitt ranks in the very top cluster of U.S. public research universities, according to The Center for Measuring University Performance. Explore how community propels Pitt forward.

Recent Highlights

Colin Allen, a distinguished professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of History and Philosophy of Science, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for 2021.

In 2020, Bopaya Bidanda, the Ernest E. Roth Professor and chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering, was elected president of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, the largest professional society dedicated to industrial engineering.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation named three Pitt faculty members as 2020 Sloan Research Fellows: Susan Fullerton, an assistant professor in the Swanson School of Engineering; Michael Hatridge, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences; and Robert E.C. Lee, an assistant professor of Computational and Systems Biology in the School of Medicine.

Toi Derricotte, professor emerita in the Department of English within the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, was the 2020 recipient of the Frost Medal for distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry.

In 2020, Anjali Sachdeva, a lecturer in the Department of English, was named a Literature Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Paul M. Palevsky was named president-elect of the National Kidney Foundation's board in 2020. Palevsky is a professor of medicine and clinical and translational science in the renal-electrolyte division of the School of Medicine.

Lisa S. Parker and Robert M. Arnold were 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 policy understanding. Parker is the Dickie, McCarney & Chilcote Professor of Bioethics at Pitt, where she directs the Center for Bioethics and Health Law. Arnold is a Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and chief of the section of palliative care and medical ethics.

Pitt Jazz Studies Director Nicole Mitchel was named a 2020 United States Artists Fellow.

Max Schuster, an assistant professor of practice in the School of Education, was selected for the 2019-2020 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NAPSA) Emerging Faculty Leaders Academy.

National Academy of Medicine

Election to the the academy, one of the highest honors in health and medicine, recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Pitt's current NAM members include:

Toren Finkel, professor of cardiology and director of Pitt's Aging Institute, elected in 2020.

Amy Wagner, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and neuroscience, 2020.

Clifton Callaway, the Ronald D. Stewart Endowed Chair in Research in Pitt's Department of Emergency Medicine and executive vice chair of emergency medicine at UPMC, 2018.

Robert M. Friedlander, the Walter E. Dandy Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurobiology in Pitt's School of Medicine and chair of the UPMC Department of Neurological Surgery, 2018.

Amy Houtrow, associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and pediatrics, School of Medicine, and chief of the Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 2018.

Donald M. Yearly, professor of emergency medicine and of clinical and translational sciences, School of Medicine, and chair of emergency medicine at UPMC, 2017.

Yoel Sadovsky, director of the Magee-Womens Research Institute and professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, School of Medicine, 2013

Michael Boninger, professor and chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2012

Jennifer R. Grandis, Distinguished Professor and vice chair for research, Department of Otolaryngology, 2012

Nancy E. Davidson, professor of medicine, Hillman Professor of Oncology, associate vice chancellor for cancer research, and director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers, 2011

Jeannette E. South-Paul, UPMC Andrew W. Mathieson Professor and chair, Department of Family Medicine, 2011

Jeremy Berg, associate senior vice chancellor for science strategy and planning for the schools of the health sciences, 2010

Donald S. Burke, dean of the Graduate School of Public Health and UPMC-Jonas Salk Chair in Global Health, 2009

David H. Perlmutter, Vira I. Heinz Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, 2008.

David A. Lewis, professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and director of the Translational Neuroscience Program, 2007

Timothy R. Billiar, George Vance Foster Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery, 2006

David Brent, professor of psychiatry, pediatrics, and epidemiology in the School of Medicine and academic chief,adolescent psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 2005

James M. Roberts, professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, 2002

Karen A. Matthews, professor of psychiatry, epidemiology, and psychology and director of the cardiovascular behavioral medicine research training program at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and of the Pittsburgh Mind-Body Center, 2002

Ellen Frank, professor of psychiatry and psychology, 1999

Bruce G. Buchanan, professor of computer science, philosophy, and medicine, 1997

Richard L. Simmons, distinguished service professor in the Department of Surgery, 1994

Bernard D. Goldstein, professor emeritus and former dean of the Graduate School of Public Health, 1991

Savio L-Y Woo, Distinguished University Professor and director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center, 1991

David J. Kupfer, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and professor of neuroscience in the School of Medicine, 1990

Judith R. Lave, codirector of the Center for Research on Health Care and professor of health economics, business administration, economics, and psychiatry, 1990

National Academy of Sciences

NAS is a private, non-profit society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research. An Act of Congress, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, calls upon the NAS to provide independent advice to the government on matters related to science and technology. Pitt's current NAS members include:

Anna C. Balazs, Distinguished Professor, Swanson School of Engineering, 2021

Ivet Bahar, chair, Department of Computational and Systems Biology, 2020

Yuan Chang, Distinguished Professor and American Cancer Society Professor in the Department of Pathology, 2012

Patrick S. Moore, Distinguished Professor and American Cancer Society Professor, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, 2012

Peter Strick, Distinguished Professor, Departments of Neurobiology and Psychiatry, 2012

Angela M. Gronenborn, UPMC Rosalind Franklin Professor and Chair, Department of Structural Biology, 2007

Susan Amara, Thomas Detre Professor and Chair, Department of Neurobiology, and Codirector of Pitt's Center for Neuroscience, 2004

Robert D. Drennan, professor, Department of Anthropology, 2004

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Founded in 1780, AAAS is an independent policy research center that conducts interdisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. AAAS Fellows currently on the Pitt faculty include:

Kirk Savage, William S. Dietrich II Professor of the History of Art and Architecture, elected in 2021.

Graham F. Hatfull, Eberly Family Professor of Biotechnology and HHMI Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, 2020

Angela Gronenborn, Distinguished Professor of Structural Biology, School of Medicine, and professor of bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, 2018

Terrance A. Hayes, professor, Department of English, 2016

James F. Woodward, Distinguished Professor, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, 2016

Lauren B. Resnick, University Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science, 2013.

Bruce A. Freeman, professor and chair, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, 2012

Peyman Givi, James T. MacLeod Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and professor, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2012

Valerian E. Kagan, professor and vice chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, 2012

Allan R. Sampson, professor, Department of Statistics and Department of Biostatistics, 2012

Nuel D. Belnap Jr., Alan Ross Anderson Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, 2008

Mark L. Wilson, professor of philosophy, director of graduate studies, and a fellow of Pitt's Center for Philosophy of Science, 2007

Anil K. Gupta, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, professor of history and philosophy of science, and a fellow of Pitt's Center for Philosophy of Science, 2006

Peter L. Strick, Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology and Psychiatry and codirector of Pitt's Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, 2004

Robert Brandom, Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy, 2000

John S. Earman, University Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science, 1993

John McDowell, Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, 1992

The University of Pittsburgh History of Award Winners list is a record of recent Pitt undergraduate student and alumni recipients of nationally competitive awards. The University Honors College relies on Pitt students, alumni, faculty, and staff to share news of successes in national competitions. Please contact Shannon Mischler, sjm130 [at] pitt.edu, with updates for the list.

Honors College National Scholarship Advising provides guidance and support to undergraduate students and alumni who are interested in pursuing national and international scholarships, fellowships, and grants.

Rhodes Scholarship

Eight Pitt students have won Rhodes Scholarships, the world's oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards. The scholarship provides full financial support to pursue a degree or degrees at Britain's University of Oxford.

The University's 2019 Rhodes recipient, Lia Petrose, earned degrees at Pitt in neuroscience and economics with a minor in chemistry. In 2016, she received a Harry S. Truman Scholarship. She plans to pursue a second bachelor's degree in computer science and philosophy at Oxford.

Harry S. Truman Scholarship

Established by the U.S. Congress, the Truman Scholarship is a highly competitive, merit-based federal award to college juniors who wish to attend graduate or professional school in preparation for careers in government, the nonprofit sector, or elsewhere in public service. Thirteen Pitt students have won Truman Scholarships.

Marshall Scholarship

The Marshall Scholarship, created by the British Parliament in honor of U.S. Army General George C. Marshall, provides access and funding at any university in the United Kingdom for two years of study toward a degree. Ten Pitt students have won the Marshall, including Madeline Fox in 2020.

Winston Churchill Scholarship

Two Pitt students, David Palm and Clayton Magill, have won Churchill Foundation Scholarships—Palm in 2014, and Magill in 2006, the first year Pitt was invited to participate in the competition. The scholarship program provides American students full support for one year of graduate studies in engineering, mathematics, and the sciences at the University of Cambridge's Churchill College. Palm earned his Master of Philosophy degree in chemistry while working to optimize a photoelectrochemical device design for efficient solar-driven water splitting for the production of hydrogen gas. He currently is a PhD student at Stanford University, and he has been awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

In 2021, Pitt was named for the 10th time in 11 years one of the nation’s top institutions for producing Fulbright students. The 15 scholars are the most ever in the University’s history. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar and Fulbright U.S. Student Programs are sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to support academic exchanges between the U.S. and more than 150 countries around the world.

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

Sixty-two Pitt students have won Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, which are awarded to college sophomores and juniors who plan to be scientists, mathematicians, or engineers. Pitt's latest Goldwater Scholars are Mark Farino and Asher Hancock (2021).

Udall Scholarship

Nine Pitt students have been awarded Udall Undergraduate Scholarships for their leadership, public service, and commitment to careers related to the advancement of American Indian nations or the environment. The scholarships are awarded by the Udall Foundation, established by the U.S. Congress in 1992 and named for Congressmen Morris King Udall and Stewart Lee Udall, both of Arizona, for their exemplary public service. Ying Chen "Bailey" Lien, an aspiring physician who plans to focus her career on public health and environmental affairs, won the Udall in 2016.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship

In 2009, Pitt student Katherine MacCord won a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, awarded to students from outside the United Kingdom for graduate-level study at the University of Cambridge. MacCord is pursuing her PhD in history and philosophy of science at Arizona State University.

Beinecke Scholarship

The Beinecke Scholarship is awarded to juniors who demonstrate financial need and exceptional academic promise and wish to attend graduate school in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. Dennis Doyle, a Pitt junior studying studio arts and chemistry, was named a 2018 Beinecke Scholar.

Boren Awards for International Study

Boren Awards provide funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests; 53 Pitt students and alumni have received Boren Awards, including eight in 2018. Viveka Mandava won the Boren Scholarship in 2012 to study Kiswahili, East African history, and international relations in Dar es Salaam, where she also interned at the Tanzania Breast Cancer Foundation. Currently, she works at 270 Strategies, helping clients build modern grassroots campaigns that change the world.

Critical Language Scholarships

Pitt students and alumni, including five in 2018, have won U.S. Department of State-sponsored scholarships to study Arabic, Bengla, Hinki, Punjabi, Turkish, Urdu, and other critical-need foreign languages.

Kanders Churchill Scholarship

In 2020, for the second time in three years, a Pitt student won the prestigious Kanders Churchill Scholarship in Science Policy from the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States. Thomas Freitag, a fourth-year student studying neuroscience and psychology in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences with a minor in chemistry, will pursue a one-year Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) at Churchill College in the University of Cambridge.

GEM/National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science Fellowship

GEM is a network of leading corporations, government laboratories, and top universities and research institutions that enables qualified students from underrepresented communities to pursue graduate education in applied science and engineering. Pitt's Jann Grovogui won the GEM Fellowship in 2015.

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships

More than 80 Pitt students since 2001 have been awarded the Gilman Scholarship to participate in study-abroad programs worldwide. The Gilman Scholarship Program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study and intern abroad, and the regions where they go, by providing awards to U.S. undergraduates who might otherwise not participate due to financial constraints. Cadijah Walcott won the Gilman Scholarship in summer 2015 to study renewable energy systems at the Danish Institute in Copenhagen.

Humanity in Action Fellowship

The Humanity in Action Fellowship brings together international groups of university students and recent graduates to explore topics related to discrimination and social resistance as well as issues affecting underrepresented groups around the world. Programs are held over the summer in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Berlin, Copenhagen, Detroit, Sarajevo, and Warsaw. Twenty Pitt students have been awarded Humanity in Action Fellowships since 2006, including Mehrgol Tiv in 2016.

Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowships

Five Pitt students — most recently David Leftwich, in 2017 —have won Pickering Fellowships, which provide financial and professional support for undergraduate students preparing to enter the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Service.

Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program

The Whitaker International Program sends emerging leaders in U.S. biomedical engineering overseas to undertake self-designed projects that will enhance their careers within the field. Ten Pitt students have received Whitaker Program grants, including Daniel Freer and Drake Pedersen in 2015. Lisa Volpatti was a Whitaker International Fellow at the University of Cambridge, where she earned a MPhil in chemistry in 2014. She is currently a PhD candidate in chemical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

From launching the biotech industry to winning Nobel Prizes, University of Pittsburgh graduates have made their marks on the world—and changed it for the better.

Arts and Entertainment

Pitt graduates have excelled on stage and on the page. The following are some of the University's A&E high achievers.

Daniel Borzutzky, winner of the 2016 National Book Award for Poetry

Bebe Moore Campbell, author of three New York Times bestsellers

Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist

Gene Kelly, Oscar-winning actor, choreographer, dancer, and director

Lorin Maazel, symphony conductor

Gerald Stern, poet and author

Athletics

For many Pitt student-athletes, the glory doesn't stop after graduation. Pitt alumni have medaled at the Olympics, coached teams to championships, and shared their sports knowledge with fans via TV, radio, print, and the Web.

Mike Ditka, Pro Football Hall of Fame player and Super Bowl-winning coach

Tony Dorsett, the first player to win a college football national championship (plus the Heisman Trophy) and the Super Bowl in back-to-back years

Roger Kingdom, two-time Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler

Billy Knight, NBA player and general manager

Dan Marino, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and TV analyst

Mark May, Outland Trophy-winning Pitt lineman, Super Bowl-winning NFL player, and ESPN analyst

Art Rooney II, President of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Trecia-Kaye Smith, triple jump world champion

John Bain "Jock" Sutherland, who coached Pitt to five national college football championships

John Woodruff, Olympic gold medal winner in the 800-meter run

Business and Entrepreneurship

Graduates of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, College of Business Administration, and other Pitt units are among the nation's leaders in business and entrepreneurship.

Bibiana Boerio, finance and strategy director for Ford's International Operations and former managing director of Jaguar Cars Ltd.

Sam Colella, venture capitalist who specializes in life-science investing

Robert Colwell, chief architect of four generations of the Pentium chip

William S. Dietrich II, business leader, investor, author, and philanthropist who gave Pitt the largest individual gift in its history, a $125 million fund

Frances Hesselbein, former CEO, Girl Scouts of the USA

Thomas A. Mellon, founder of the Mellon banking dynasty, and his sons Andrew W. and Richard B. Mellon, bankers, industrialists, and philanthropists who served Pitt as trustees and donors. Andrew Mellon also served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Health

Kevin Sharer, board chair and CEO of Amgen Inc.

Ray Smith, retired board chair and CEO, Bell Atlantic

John Swanson, engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of ANSYS Inc.

Burt Tansky, retired president and CEO, Neiman Marcus

Thomas Usher, board chair of Marathon Oil, formerly CEO and COO of U.S. Steel

Education

Pitt has long been an international leader in education, preparing students to be teachers, researchers, public policy experts, and administrators.

Steven Beering, president emeritus, Purdue University

Catherine DeAngelis, medical educator and editor-in-chief, Journal of the American Medical Association

Lap-Chee Tsui, Chinese-Canadian geneticist and vice chancellor and president of the University of Hong Kong

Community Service and Human Rights

Along with teaching and research, public service is a core mission of the University of Pittsburgh. Pitt students continue that legacy of service after they graduate.

C. Scott Harrison, orthopaedic surgeon who cofounded CURE International to treat disabled children

Abul Hussam, inventor of a simple, inexpensive filter that removes arsenic from drinking water and is saving lives in developing countries

Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, political activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner

Holmes Rolston III, "father of environmental ethics" and winner of the Templeton Prize for advancing peace, social justice, and human knowledge

Bill Strickland, founder and CEO of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, author, and MacArthur "Genuis" Fellow

Journalism

Generations of Pitt alumni have informed the public as reporters, editors, broadcasters, and bloggers, including the following individuals.

Frank Bolden, pioneering African American newspaper reporter

Lynette Clemetson, director of StateImpact (a reporting project between NPR and member stations) and a former reporter for The New York Times and Newsweek

Myron Cope, award-winning sportswriter and broadcast voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Al Primo, broadcast journalist who created the "Eyewitness News" format

Law, Politics, and the Military

The following are among the national, state, and foreign leaders who earned Pitt degrees.

Ralph J. Cappy, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Orrin Hatch, U.S. Senator for Utah

K. Leroy Irvis, Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Mahmoud Jibril, who served as acting prime minister of the Libyan rebel government during the 2011 civil war that drove Moammar Gadhafi from power

Roscoe Robinson Jr., first African American four-star Army general

Dick Thornburgh, Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Attorney General

Science/Health

Pitt graduates have expanded the boundaries of knowledge, from life-saving medical breakthroughs to searches for signs of Martian life.

Herbert Boyer, genetic engineer whose research on the DNA molecule launched the biotechnology industry

Bernard Fisher, pioneering oncologist whose research fundamentally altered understanding of breast cancer

Kevin Guskiewicz, a sports medicine scholar and MacArthur "Genius" Fellow who was among the first to identify the long-term threats to athletes of multiple concussions

Philip Hench, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the hormone cortisone and its effectiveness in treating rheumatoid arthritis

Norman Horowitz, biochemical evolutionist who devised NASA experiments searching for signs of life on Mars

Paul Lauterbur, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research that made magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) possible

Bert W. O'Malley, "father of molecular endocrinology" and National Medical of Science winner

James Theodore, pioneer in heart-lung and lung transplantation

Vladimir Zworykin, Russian-American inventor, engineer, and pioneer of television technology

'Green' Gold

Eighteen Pitt buildings and building-renovation projects have received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council since 2005: the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (Gold, 2005), the Swanson School of Engineering Benedum Hall renovation phase I (Gold, 2011), the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (Gold, 2012), the Chevron Science Center addition (Gold, 2013), the Thomas E. Starzl Biomedical Science Tower 12th-floor renovation (Gold, 2013), the Mid-Campus Research Complex Nuclear Physics renovation (Silver, 2014), the Greensburg campus's Frank A. Cassell Hall (Gold, 2014), Mark A. Nordenberg Hall (Silver, 2014), the Johnstown campus's Nursing and Health Sciences Building (Gold, 2015), the Benedum Hall renovation phase 2A (Silver, 2016), the Salk Hall Pavilion (Silver, 2016) the Graduate School of Public Health addition (Certified, 2018) and the Clapp Hall renovation (Silver, 2020).

Award-Winning Architecture

Pitt buildings have won a number of honors from the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Most recently, Scaife Hall won a 2018 Certificate of Merit and the Graduate School of Public Health addition won a 2014 Honor Award.

The Chevron Science Center and the Greensburg campus's Frank A. Cassell Hall were honored as part of the Master Builders' Association (MBA) of Western Pennsylvania's 2012 MBA Building Excellence Awards competition. Chevron won in the "New Construction Between $10-25 Million" category, and Cassell Hall was the winner in the "New Construction Under $10 Million" category. The MBA Building Excellence Awards are the region's most prestigious awards in the commercial construction industry.

The Chevron Annex within the Chevron Science Center won the 2012 Society for College and University Planning Excellence in Architecture for Building Additions or Adaptive Reuse Honor Award.

Benedum Hall (constructed in 1971) has received an Honor Award as well as a Distinguished Building Award from the Pennsylvania Society of the AIA.

The Biomedical Science Tower 3 (2003-05) has won awards from AIA/New England and AIA/Pittsburgh as well as an Award for Design from the Boston Society of Architects.

The Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (1993) won an Award for Excellence in Architectural Design from the Pennsylvania Society of Architects in addition to an Honor Award from AIA/Pittsburgh.

AIA/Pittsburgh honored Hillman Library (1965-68) with a 1996 Timeless Award for Enduring Design.

The Petersen Events Center (2002) won a 2003 Innovative Architecture & Design Honor Award.

The Thomas E. Starzl Biomedical Science Tower (1990) received a Lab of the Year Award from R&D Magazine.

Cathedral of Learning

The 42-story Cathedral of Learning is the iconic heart of the University of Pittsburgh. A landmark listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the Gothic Revival skyscraper is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere.

Other Historic Landmarks

Like the Cathedral, Pitt's Allegheny Observatory is designated as a landmark in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Greek Revival astronomy facility was constructed between 1900 and 1912.

Four Pitt buildings have earned Pennsylvania State Historical Designations: the Allegheny Observatory, Salk Hall, the Stephen Foster Memorial, and the William Pitt Union.

The following Pitt buildings are Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks: the Allegheny Observatory, Allen Hall, Alumni Hall, Amos Hall, Bellefield Hall, Brackenridge Hall, Bruce Hall, the Cathedral of Learning, the Chancellor's Residence, the Child Development Center, Gardner Steel Conference Center, Holland Hall, McCormick Hall, Salk Hall, the Stephen Foster Memorial, Thaw Hall, and the William Pitt Union.

Championship Legacy

Pitt's 19 varsity teams compete at the highest level of U.S. collegiate athletics. In addition to traditionally fielding competitive football and men's basketball teams, Pitt has produced dominant squads in baseball, women's basketball, gymnastics, swimming and diving, volleyball, and wrestling.

Scholar Athletes

The Atlantic Coast Conference named 230 Panthers to its academic honor roll in 2019.

Winningest Coach

In 2020, Pitt-Johnstown wrestling coach Pat Pecora broke a 46-year-old record for most wins in college wrestling at any level.

Gridiron Glory

Pitt has won nine national football championships, the most of any major college program in the Eastern United States and the sixth-highest total ever. The Panthers were the first football team to wear numbered jerseys, travel by plane, and play in a game broadcast on radio. Among the many Panthers who went on to play in the NFL are Pro Football Hall of Famers Jimbo Covert, Mike Ditka, Chris Doleman, Tony Dorsett, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Dan Marino, Curtis Martin and Joe Schmidt.

Winning Round-ball Programs

The Pitt men's basketball team has made 25 NCAA tournament appearances, advancing to the Final Four once, to the Elite Eight three times, and to the Sweet Sixteen seven times; the team has won 10 conference regular-season championships and four conference tournament championships. In the era preceding national tournaments, the Panthers were ranked as national champions three times. The women's basketball team has made four NCAA tournament appearances, twice advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.

Olympic Medalists

Pitt students and alumni who have medaled in the Olympics include John Woodruff (gold medal, 800-meter run, 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin), Herbert Douglas Jr. (bronze, long jump, London 1948), Dick Rydze (silver, 10-meter diving, Munich 1972), and Roger Kingdom (gold, 110-meter hurdles, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988). Marisa Pedulla took fourth place in women's judo in Atlanta in 1996. Pitt Professor Savio Woo is the only engineer to win an Olympic Gold Medal—for sports medicine.