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Pittsburgh Courier NEW
www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 112 No. 3
Two Sections
JANUARY 20-26, 2021
thenewpittsburghcourier Published Weekly $1.00
ASHLEY BATTLE’S LIFELONG JOURNEY Manchester born-and-raised, starred in the WNBA and now embarks on a new career by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
ASHLEY BATTLE grew up in Manchester, on the North Side. She won three national championships at the University of Connecticut, then had a six-year career in the WNBA. She now is making inroads at Nike as an associate product line manager. (Photo by Emmai Alaquiva)
Professional athletes are fully aware that their basketball, football, baseball or hockey careers can’t last forever. After retirement, some athletes go into coaching, such as Bill Cowher, the former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. Cowher played five seasons in the NFL before getting into coaching, eventually becoming Steelers head coach in 1992 and winning Super Bowl XL after the 2005 season. Aliquippa’s own Tony Dorsett, a Hall of Fame running back with the Dallas Cowboys, enjoyed a successful stint in the business world after his playing days ended in 1988. Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all-time, but even he wanted to accomplish more after retirement. He went on to become the NBA’s second-ever
Black majority owner of a franchise, the Charlotte Hornets. Ashley Battle used her intellect, passion and determination to succeed
COURIER EXCLUSIVE on the court during a sixyear career in the WNBA and overseas. She’s used the same attributes to craft a substantive career after retiring from the game in 2011 due to a number of injuries. Battle became an associate product line manager for Nike’s “Jordan Brand” entity in September 2020. Once the coronavirus pandemic is controlled, she told the New Pittsburgh Courier she’ll be moving to Portland, Oregon, to work at Nike headquarters. But for now, she works remotely, from Pittsburgh. That’s right, Pittsburgh, where it all began
for Battle. The Manchester neighborhood is where Battle was born and raised, attending Manchester Elementary School, and for middle school, she attended Frick. Battle had the gift of basketball early on, playing for the Western Pennsylvania Bruins AAU team at age 12. Her team ended up winning the national championship that year, and by the time she reached the seventh grade, Battle received her first letter of recruitment to play college ball at William & Mary, a university in Virginia. For high school, Battle made the decision to play for The Linsly School, a private boarding school in Wheeling, W.Va. There, she recalls “breaking every record known to mankind,” becoming a must-see attraction each time she hit the court. The 6-foot Battle said SEE BATTLE A4
‘RESULTS-ORIENTED. COMMITTED TO EQUITY AND JUSTICE.’
Alaine Allen named CMU College of Engineering’s Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Alaine Allen, Ed.D, describes herself as a “collaborative, strategic, and results-oriented leader with a commitment to equity and justice.” Apparently, Carnegie Mellon University concurs. Dr. Allen, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned, is joining Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering as the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She will begin her new role on Feb. 1. Dr. Allen formerly was the director of educational outreach and community engagement for Kindergarteners through twelfth-graders at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. She also served as director of pre-college and undergraduate diversity programs at the Swanson School of Engineering, where she built a team of
professionals to develop student-focused, nationally recognized diversity and inclusion programs for college and pre-college students. At the helm, Dr. Allen helped increase the percentage of minority engineering students at Pitt with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher from 36 percent in 2011, to 62 percent in 2018. Dr. Allen earned a bachelor of science in Physics Education from Lincoln University, a Historically Black College near Philadelphia. She earned a master of education in Policy, Planning and Evaluation Studies and a doctorate of education in Higher Education Management, both from PItt. A release from CMU’s College of Engineering said that Dr. Allen will work to “foster an inclusive environment and welcoming culture to advance the college and university mission in Diversity, Eq-
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“Alaine is a professional practitioner with longstanding experience in DEI coupled with formal training in this field.” BILL SANDERS Dean, CMU College of Engineering uity and Inclusion.” Dr. Allen will work closely with the college’s department and committee leaders, advancing DEI initiatives and developing “anti-racist practices.” “Alaine is a wonderful fit for the College of Engineering with deep connections to the Pittsburgh region, as well as associations with several national professional organizations,” Jon Cagan, CMU professor of mechanical engineering and chair of the search advisory committee, said in a statement provided to the Courier. Some of the professional organizations Dr. Allen’s been involved with include the American Educational Research Association, Association for the Study of Higher Education, American Society for Engineering Education and the
National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates. Dr. Allen has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lottie P. Edwards Community Award for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math from the Mt. Ararat Baptist Church Community Center; University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Affirmative Action Award; and National Society of Black Engineers Golden Torch Award for Minority Engineering Program DIrector of the Year. In the CMU College of Engineering’s Strategic Plan for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, obtained by the Courier, there are six core principles of which the plan is rooted: DiversiSEE ALLEN B6
ALAINE ALLEN, ED.D.