5 Pitt faculty members receive the 2021 Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum

The Office of the Provost awarded five faculty members with the Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum. The honor recognizes exceptional efforts to incorporate equity and inclusion into existing courses and curricula.

During a virtual program on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, keynote speaker Yolanda Covington Ward, chair of the Department of Africana Studies, spoke about the role of the educator in fostering social change. “As educators, we have to think about what our role is in fostering social change and how we can best provide a more comprehensive and complete education for our students,” she said.  

John Wallace, vice provost for faculty diversity and development, addressed the importance of diversifying the University’s curriculum.

Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Ann E. Cudd presented the awards, which included a $2,000 cash prize, to these recipients:

Benjamin Brand, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, German Department, reframed his course “Indo-European Folktales” and taught the connection between colonialism and the spread of Indo-European languages.

Paul Harper, Pitt Business, designed the course “Race and Business Ethics” to fulfill a need for a historically informed and culturally embedded approach to moral theory, management decision-making and leadership development.

Alaina James, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, reformatted the dermatology course “Skin and Musculoskeletal Disease” to include a skin color gradient of images with white, brown and black skin colors.

Robert Kerestes, Swanson School of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, made changes to his electromagnetics course to provide a more engaging environment using three aspects: teamwork, gamification, and diversity and inclusion practices.

Jennifer White, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy, challenged students across five courses to be inclusive of the diverse spectrum of people they will be serving in the future.