Awards and Accolades

Graham Hatfull reflected on 25 years of research in a special PNAS paper

In the late 1990s, Graham Hatfull and colleagues reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) their findings about genetic connections between distantly related bacteriophages, viruses that kill bacteria, in a paper titled “Evolutionary relationships among diverse bacteriophages and prophages: All the world’s a phage.”

RJ Thompson won the Dr. Tom Baker Community Leader Award

RJ Thompson has been selected as the 2025 Dr. Tom Baker Community Leader Award by Get Involved, Inc. The award, named after a longtime Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher, recognizes passionate and positive community impact.

Thompson is a teaching associate professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of English. 

You can read the full story on Pittwire.

A Dietrich School professor earned a Dr. Larry E. Davis Award

The University of Pittsburgh will honor seven faculty members, including one Dietrich faculty member, whose achievements in scholarship, leadership, mentorship and community engagement embody the legacy of Dean Emeritus Larry E. Davis.

  • Seth Okyere, teaching assistant professor of urban studies in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, won the Emerging Scholar Award.

You see the full list of awardees on Pittwire.

Pitt students and staff took home awards at a statewide TRIO conference

Staff and students affiliated with two Pitt TRIO programs were honored at the 2025 PA TRIO Annual Conference.

Kamryn Abrial, a senior social work major, and Emma Young, an undeclared first-year student, won $750 PA TRIO Scholarship Awards. Kate Parker won a $750 Pitt TRIO McNair Scholarship.

You can read the full story on Pittwire.

Nominations are open for both the Bellet and AMPCO Awards

The Tina & David Bellet Teaching Excellence Awards recognize outstanding and innovative teaching in undergraduate studies in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Each fall, students and faculty are encouraged to submit nominations to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies. There are three requirements for Bellet Nominees: