The Pitt News
T h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he U niversity of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | april 11, 20 1 7 | V o l u m e 1 0 7 | I ssu e 1 5 7
Pitt names IT’S ON THE HOUSE senior vice chancellor for research John Hamilton and Ashwini Sivaganesh
The Pitt News Staff The University of Pittsburgh hired Rob A. Rutenbar Monday as the first senior vice chancellor for research, a new position that will oversee and integrate research at Pitt. The search for the job began in October 2016, when Pitt held four town halls to get input on hiring for the new job. During this process, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said the right candidate would be someone who can work effectively in bureaucracy and promote collaboration. Rutenbar, an entrepreneur who specializes in computer science, will manage the University’s Center for Research Computing, the Innovation Institute, the Office of Research and other departments with the goal of creating and implementing a “longterm plan for research infrastructure,” according to a press release. “[Rutenbar’s] experience as a researcher, innovator, collaborator and entrepreneur — both inside and outside of the University — make Rob uniquely qualified to support our faculty’s research and innovation efforts and to champion Pitt research on a local, national and global scale,” Gallagher said in the release Monday. Providing administrative support and economic partnerships will be major focuses for Rutenbar, according to the job description. He will report to Gallagher, who has focused heavily on research since becoming chancellor in 2014 — especially with recent endeavours to establish the Healthy Living and Innovation Institutes. See Chancellor on page 2
The University of Pittsburgh Habitat for Humanity club builds a “HabiShack” on the WPU lawn to bring awareness to the issue of widespread substandard housing. Meghan Sunners VISUAL EDITOR
MAKING MEMORIES
Pitt students paint 28 portraits for underprivilaged children through The Memory Project. Anandhini Narayanan For The Pitt News
Jill McDonnell surveyed a set of portrait pictures laid out on a Hillman Library table and picked her next art subject based on their name and favorite color — the only information provided with the picture. Using watercolor and acrylic paints, McDonnell and 27 other artists at Pitt painted personalized portraits of children they haven’t met, which will be delivered next week to the subjects — 4,000 miles away in Bolivia.
“I chose this particular portrait to paint because her favorite color is pink — and that’s how I made the background,” McDonnell, a junior molecular biology major, said. “I also sent a note in Spanish with the portrait.” Members of ARTificial –– a Pitt club McDonnell is involved in that focuses on providing outside the classroom art projects for students –– and other Pitt art students created these portraits for The Memory Project, a national nonprofit aimed at helping poor, abused or orphaned children feel valued by giving them a personalized portrait. The artwork is
created by artists at high schools, colleges and other organizations around the country. Each year, The Memory Project receives photos of disadvantaged children taken by various global charities and orphanages. The project then sends these pictures to schools or organizations that have artists interested in painting portraits for the children, only giving their first name, age, country they live in and favorite color. The project doesn’t reveal the organization that provided the photos to proSee Memory Project on page 2