Wood Street Corridor
National High School Dance Festival 2020
Nearly 1,500 students, chaperones, guest artists and recruiters from around the world experienced all things dance at the National High School Dance Festival, Feb. 26 - March 1, 2020, at Point Park's Downtown Pittsburgh campus. "It was a treat to welcome guests from across the nation together with participants from other countries, including Australia, Canada and Taiwan," said Garfield Lemonius, M.F.A., chair and associate professor of dance. "This festival provides a platform that celebrates talented young artists and their accomplishments, ensures a safe environment for student networking and gives students an opportunity to audition for major college/university programs in one setting.” "The National High School Dance Festival has gained an outstanding reputation for embracing and perpetuating the highest standard for quality in dance education in high schools across our nation," said Kathryn Kearns, Ed.D., festival founder/executive director. "I want to thank Point Park University for hosting this amazing festival for a third time." Read more: https://www.pointpark.edu/news-copa/NHSDF-2020
V3 Challenge Kicks Off
The Rowland School of Business and Pittsburgh-based consulting company Above to Below announce the first annual Vigor, Vibe and Venture (V3) Challenge aimed at helping a local entity grow its business, service or entrepreneurial vision. A $10,000 prize will be awarded to a business venture in Greater Pittsburgh region. An anonymous 1999 graduate of Point Park is donating the $10,000 prize. “Point Park was a game-changer for me,” said the graduate. “I was that kid who tried a few different colleges after high school graduation, but when I got to Point Park, everything started to click for me, academically, socially and culturally. I’d found my home.” According to Steve Tanzilli, J.D., dean of the Rowland School of Business, “This competition is an opportunity to provide financial support and mentorship to a worthy Pittsburgh entity at a time when unemployment is high and we continue to reel from the effects of the pandemic. We wanted to use this generous gift to change the narrative and shine a focus on economic growth and opportunities for entrepreneurs right here in Pittsburgh.” The V3 competition is an inclusive opportunity for everyone, including Point Park students. “We hope that students take advantage of the V3 competition to support their own capstone projects or other entrepreneurial ventures. Even students not entering V3 will have an opportunity to gain real-world, practical-based experiences throughout the duration of the competition including website design, logo creation and social media experience,” said Tanzilli. According to Jennifer Ferris-Glick, a co-principal of Above to Below, “We’re excited to be partnering with the Rowland School of Business because its innovative approach to offering exceptional academic and experiential education opportunities is very much in line with the inspiration for the inaugural V3 competition.” The V3 Challenge winner will be announced on November 6 with a presentation scheduled to take place at Point Park on December 3. In addition, the V3 winner will receive a year’s worth of mentorship/check-ins on their venture and have an opportunity to seek guidance when necessary. Learn more: www.v3challenge.com.
CMI Initiates Media Partnership
The Center for Media Innovation at Point Park has launched the Pittsburgh Media Partnership, an unprecedented collaborative effort among media outlets in the Greater Pittsburgh region.
The Partnership supports journalists from 20 participating news organizations as they work to ensure local communities get the information they need during this crisis. It was formed earlier this year in response to the dire economic challenges facing the local news industry, with a mission to support a vibrant, diverse and independent media ecosystem. Its structure – generously funded by The Heinz Endowments and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation – supports collaboration among the media outlets when it can help the most, which includes significant enterprise journalism. While the group had been meeting for months to develop its first project together, the board recently agreed to shift the focus to COVID-19 coverage, given the unusual nature of the story and the resources required to cover it. “One of the Center’s primary goals is to support professional journalism, which is why we established the Partnership in the first place. Current world events and the impact it’s having on professional journalism warrants a temporary shift in strategy as we see news outlets struggle with sudden, lost advertising revenue while they strain their resources to inform the public,” said Andrew Conte, director of the Center for Media Innovation. "Our mission is to support our region’s journalists and their work in the middle of a tumultuous time for the business of local news," said AmyJo Brown, project editor of the Partnership.
Golden Quill Winners
Point Park students, alumni and faculty earned top honors at the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania's 56th annual Golden Quill Awards, held virtually Sept. 3. "I am thrilled that Point Park students, alumni and faculty did so well in the Golden Quill awards. The awards demonstrate the excellent work our students do in print, broadcast, photojournalism and digital journalism. I couldn't be prouder of them," said Bernie Ankney, Ph.D., School of Communication dean. "I hope that everyone in the Pittsburgh region checks out the excellent work they submitted and the stories they told." Jordyn Hronec, a senior B.A. in multimedia major, was awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. "I work incredibly hard at balancing running The Globe as editor-in-chief, managing class work, and I have a strong passion for the field of journalism, so to receive this award from the Press Club meant, to me, that I must be doing something right," Hronec said. Read more about the award winners and finalists: https://www.pointpark.edu/news-communication/2020-Golden-Quill-Awards
Point Park and IUP Partner on HR bachelor’s, master’s program
Point Park and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) are teaming up to provide students an opportunity to receive a B.S. in Human Resources Management and an M.A. in Human Resources and Employee Relations in five years. “Point Park, as always, is focused on programs that prepare students for the real world,” said Steve Tanzilli, Dean of the Rowland School of Business. “We’re excited to team up with IUP, as this provides an amazing opportunity for students looking to get into and advance quickly in the field of Human Resources.” The 4+1 program allows students to apply for early admission to the M.A. in Human Resources and Employee Relations program at IUP once they complete their 90th credit in the Human Resources Management bachelor’s degree program at Point Park. If accepted into the program, students take up to 12 credits of graduate classes during their senior year at Point Park, then take the remaining 24 graduate credits at IUP to complete the M.A. degree. The program can be taken through face-to-face instruction, online instruction and distance education using Zoom technology that allows students to remotely attend class. The partnership between IUP and Point Park allows students to enter the IUP graduate program through early admission, which permits students to start taking graduate classes while they are still in their undergraduate program. Learn more: https://www.pointpark.edu/academics/schools/business/UndergraduateProgram/BS-MA-HR-Dual-Degrees-Program.
Sales Leader
The Rowland School of Business has been ranked among the best colleges and universities for preparing students for sales-related careers by the Sales Education Foundation and was listed in the 2020 SEF Annual Magazine. “This recognition underscores our ongoing commitment to professional selling and the added value we bring to our students and the marketplace. We’re fortunate to have faculty members within our accredited marketing and sales and sports, arts, and entertainment management programs with professional experience in this area to deliver course offerings specific to professional selling,” said Dorene Ciletti, Ph.D., associate professor of sales and marketing. “Sales is the lifeblood of an organization. We are proud of our designation as a Top University for Professional Sales Education and are excited to offer Point Park students fundamental training to prepare them for their career success in professional sales,” added Robert Derda, M.S., assistant professor and chair of sports, arts and entertainment management. Read more: https://www.pointpark.edu/news-business/Point-Park-Recognized-as-a-Top-University-for-Professional-Sales-Education
Women in Industry Initiative
The Women In Industry initiative, a program of the Rowland School of Business at Point Park University, kicked off its WIN Wednesdays virtual speaker series on Sept. 16 with special guest Marianna Stoneburner from UPMC discussing “How Do You Lead During a Global Pandemic?” Stoneburner is chief of nursing and vice president of patient care at UPMC Horizon and UPMC Jameson. She shared her experiences with pandemic leadership, including crisis planning and management, transparency, communication and flexibility. “Over the last 24 years, Marianna has held progressive leadership roles with UPMC,” said Sandra Mervosh, M.S., SHRM-SCP, SPHR, program director of WIN and director of Rowland’s human resources management program. “She is representative of everything the Women In Industry initiative is about.” Educating and empowering women is an essential element of the Rowland School of Business and the WIN initiative to accelerate the success of women-identified students and professionals.
Helena Knörr, Ph.D., professor of organizational leadership in the Rowland School of Business and Department of Literary Arts and Social Justice, recently hosted three webinars for the Nogales Chamber of Commerce in Sonora, Mexico, as well as businesses in the Baja California/Los Cabos region. This leadership effort was part of Knörr's pro bono work for B-Sure Consultancy Experts, a consulting company owned by Jose Castillo, who just launched his business during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Hosting these webinars pro bono is a way for me to continue serving the University’s mission while positioning Point Park at an international level of community engagement,” Knorr said. Read more: https://www.pointpark.edu/news-business/Point-Park-Professor-Hosts-Webinars-Helping-Mexican-Businesses-During-the-COVID-19-Pandemic
Brendan Mullan, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics and astronomy, was named a 2020 Science as Story Fellowship Recipient by The Creative Nonfiction Foundation. As a Fellow, Mullan is currently taking part in a series of writing workshops, led by writer Katie Booth, that explore the use of narrative in science-focused stories. "This isn’t just an ordinary popular science writing workshop. Instead of explaining science concepts and topics for a general audience, our task is to focus on the human element, the story behind the science. It’s a unique and interesting challenge for me. I spend so much time in the classroom and my nonprofit work giving voice to science concepts, applications and process, I never get to elaborate on the human side of it. In many ways, humanity is what makes science interesting and relatable and sharing human stories is one of the most effective ways to bring science to others," Mullan explained. Read more: https://www.pointpark.edu/news-arts-sciences/Point-Park-Physics-Professor-Named-a-2020-Science-as-Story-Fellowship-Recipient