Consortium of universities marks 40th anniversary
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Their collective enrollments total 89,851 students, up by 57 percent from 1970. And during that time, they have awarded 415,773 college degrees.
The number of universities among them has grown from three to seven.
The Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education, a voluntary consortium of 10 local colleges and universities, is marking the 40th anniversary of its incorporation today by highlighting milestones of its member schools.
The group also released data showing the campuses' growing imprint on the region.
A total of 23,277 people are employed at Carlow University, Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham University, Community College of Allegheny County, Duquesne University, La Roche College, Point Park University, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Robert Morris University and the University of Pittsburgh. That compares with about 11,400 in 1970.
Their collective budgets stood at $190 million in 1970 and now approach $3.2 billion.
"First and foremost, the fact that over 400,000 degrees have been awarded is a direct indication of the impact the schools have had on the lives of that many individuals," said Ken Service, PCHE executive director.
The schools also have applied their expertise to the region's social issues, and the campuses have helped transform Pittsburgh's economy through billions of dollars in funded research, including fields like robotics, software engineering and medicine, Mr. Service said.
A list of about three dozen achievements assembled by PCHE includes some well-known milestones, including:
• Herbert Simon delivered Carnegie Mellon's first Nobel Prize - in economics - in 1978.
• Thomas Starzl, considered by many to be the "Father of Transplantation," became a Pitt medical school professor of surgery in 1981.
• In 1983, CCAC introduced its Dislocated Worker Educational Training Program, a lifeline amid the loss of steel industry jobs.
First Published December 10, 2010 12:00 am
