Provost Joe McCarthy made a couple personnel announcement this week for his office:

Michael Bridges, who has headed the University Center for Teaching and Learning since 2023, plans to retire on June 30. Bridges came to Pitt in 2020 as director of the Teaching Commons. In that capacity, he led initiatives in teaching innovation, faculty development, consulting, course design and development, assessment, curriculum diversity, and other teaching and learning advancements. He and the Teaching Center team also provided critical support for instructional continuity and emergency remote delivery during COVID.

McCarthy said he plans to name an interim executive director “as we consider timing of a search for a permanent leader.”

David Sanchez, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering and associate director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, has been named a Provost Faculty Fellow, effective Feb. 1. In this role, Sanchez will lead efforts to strengthen faculty mentorship and enhance academic advising.

He will work in collaboration with the Undergraduate Studies team to lead the faculty mentorship component of the University’s Academic Advising Coordination initiative, and will partner with the Student Success team, the Center for Mentoring within the Teaching Center, and the Faculty Development team to develop training and professional development opportunities for faculty in this area.