Join other Pitt faculty to build networks to address global issues

By SUSAN JONES

The Year of Pitt Global is inviting all Pitt faculty, tenured and non-tenure stream, to a special series of faculty networking opportunities starting Feb. 19.

The Global Salon series is designed to bring together faculty and researchers from across the University to build relationships and share proposed or ongoing research.

The concept for the Global Salons was initiated by Randall Halle, professor of German film and cultural studies and co-chair of the year of Pitt Global steering committee, and members of the Year of Pitt Global research initiatives subcommittee, including Michael Goodhart, director of the Global Studies Center, and Audrey Murrell, associate dean and professor in the College of Business Administration.

“From its earliest days, the subcommittee discussed ways that the Year of Pitt Global could go beyond just the year and enhance global research by members of Pitt’s faculty on campus and around the world,” Shawn M. Reming Jr., project coordinator for the Year of Pitt Global, said in an email.

The salons are organized around the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals in five themes: People, Prosperity, Planet, Peace and Partnership. They are designed to encourage open dialogue across disciplines, develop common research agendas and highlight efforts Pitt faculty undertake to address global issues.

Faculty can discuss their research informally through conversation groups and networking opportunities. In addition, participants may be eligible for seed grant funding to advance multi-disciplinary research projects.

The salons will be led by members of the Year of Pitt Global steering committee, with each person committing to guide the discussions of one or more salons and encourage colleagues to participate.

“The goal is to make the series widely interdisciplinary in order to highlight global research across the University,” Reming said. “The subcommittee selected the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals as a way to organize the salons and bring together faculty working on diverse topics.

“With the creation of the Pitt Global hub, the Global Dashboard, and a variety of other efforts by the University Center for International Studies and international programs in colleges and departments around the University, we hope to use events like the Global Salon to bring people together and expand local-global partnerships,” he said. “We are excited that participants in the Global Salons will be eligible for funding for multidisciplinary research projects that come out of working groups that we hope to form as a result of the salons. This would obviously take our efforts beyond 2019 and establish a legacy of global initiatives that support research across disciplines for the foreseeable future.”

The Global Salons are free of charge, and lunch is provided, but registration is required. They are from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the William Pitt Union lower lounge.

The dates and focus of each salon are:

Feb. 19, People: Research on strategies and technologies to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, to ensure that all human beings can fulfill their potential in dignity and equality and in healthy environments.

Feb. 28, Prosperity: Research on strategies and technologies to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.

March 5, Planet: Research on strategies and technologies to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change to support present and future generations.

March 19, Peace: Research on strategies to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies that are free from fear and violence and directed toward an understanding that no sustainable development can occur without peace and no peace can occur without sustainable development.

April 9, Partnership: Research on strategies to mobilize and implement global partnerships for sustainable development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, and focused on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable.

Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 412-648-4294.