Pitt Human Rights Initiative

The purpose of this initiative is to strengthen working relationships between the University of Pittsburgh and community leaders working to address a variety of human rights concerns in our region. The aim is to amplify human rights on the city's and university's agenda and to raise public consciousness and discourse around human rights. We can help build an organized constituency for human rights in Pittsburgh by bringing diverse groups together and mobilizing university resources. Support for this initiative has been provided by the University of Pittsburgh's Research in Diversity Initiative of the Office of the Provost and the University Research Council

Project coordinator: Jackie Smith, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Sociology

Pitt Human Rights Working Group Members
Jason Beery, Senior Research & Policy Analyst, Urbankind
Michael Goodhart, Director, Global Studies Center, Pitt & Advisory Board member, Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance
Carol Hardeman, Community Organizer, Hill District Consensus Group
anu jain, Executive Director, Gender Equity Commission, City of Pittsburgh & Founder, Inclusant Consulting
Jamilah Lahijuddin, Youth Organizing Program, Hill District Consensus Group
Dawn Plummer, Pittsburgh Food Policy Council
Carl Redwood Jr., Hill District Consensus Group, Vice-Chair, Board of Directors
Monica Ruiz, Community Organizer, Casa San Jose
Carlos Torres, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations
Laura Wiens, Director, Pittsburghers for Public Transit
Lisa Alfredson Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Lauren Collister, Director, University Library Systems Office of Scholarly Communication and Publishing
Peter Odell Campbell, Department of English Program in Composition, Literacy, Pedagogy, & Rhetoric
Sabina Dietrick, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Waverly Duck, Director, Urban Studies Program & Department of Sociology
Erika Gold Kestenberg, School of Education Center for Urban Education
Sarah Goodkind, School of Social Work
Jordan Hayes, Department of English
Holly Hickling, University Honors College Academic Community Engagement Advisor
Cory Holding, Department of English
Shenay Jeffrey, Outreach Coordinator, Office of PittServes, & Advisory Board member, New Voices for Reproductive Justice
Michelle King, Learning Instigator, Teacher-Powered Pittsburgh
Kari Kokka, Department of Instruction and Learning
Dan Kubis, Humanities Center “Public Humanities
Jules Lobel, School of Law
Noble Maseru, Director, Center for Health Equity & Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion
Paul Nelson, Associate Dean, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Mary Ohmer, Community Organization and Social Action Program, School of Social Work & Center for Race and Social Problems
Leigh Patel, Associate Dean of Equity and Justice in University of Pittsburgh School of Education
Roger Rouse, Global Studies Center
Jeffrey Shook, School of Social Work
Sam Shepherd, Arts & Sciences Graduate Fellow, History Department
Jackie Smith, Department of Sociology
Molly Warsh, Co-Director, World History Center

*Supporting roles
*Jamie C. Ducar, Assist. Dir. Community Relations, Pitt Office of Community Relations

Activities

• Human Rights Working Group Annual Report 2017-2018

• Housing Justice -Housing Summit
• Health, Human Rights, and Cities Initiative
• Campus Equity
• Dialogue Series: Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • Opening Panel: Human Rights in Pittsburgh and the World
• Forums on Amazon HQ2 and the Right to the City
  • "Pittsburgh's Economic Revitalization: Technology, Corporate Power, and Democratic Accountability"
  • 'Human Rights, the Right to the City, and Amazon HQ2: Forged for all?

• Open letter to Pitt Chancellor: Urging our universities to stand up for immigrant rights and DACA "dreamers"
  • Summary of recommended Actions and University services for immigrant/DACA students

Meeting Documentation
November 2017
October 30 2017