Registration
Registration Link | Conference Schedule
Registration, Networking and Continental Breakfast: 8:00AM
Sponsor Remarks and Conference Overview: 9:00AM
Opening Remarks: 9:15AM
Dr. Joe McCarthy, Interim Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor
Humanities @ Work in the Community, Health and Tech Industries
Cultivating Compassion, Civil Discourse, &
Embracing the Power of Language
Conference is fully in-person but we might be able to broadcast some sessions via Zoom. Contact us for remote attendance details: HinH@pitt.edu
Register for free to join our in-person conference at The University Club, sponsored by partners.
April 12, 2024 (all day) – The University Club, Ballroom A
123 University Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
University of Pittsburgh
For questions about partnerships or any conference details, contact:
HinH@pitt.edu | Dr. Soudi : soudia@pitt.edu
Morning Speech Events
Keynote Address
Anantha Shekhar, MD, PhD, Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences; John and Gertrude Petersen Dean -School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Words Matter: Language, Compassion and Fostering Community
Plenary Sessions: 10:30AM to Noon
- Jeannette South-Paul, MD, Provost & Vice-President, Meharry College
Fostering Cultural Humility
- Mark Pastin, PhD, Health Ethics, President
Lunch (Ballroom A, Noon)
- Remarks by Nicola Foote, Ph.D., Dean, David C. Frederick Honors College
- Remarks by Dr. Judy Chang
- Remarks by Fred Brown, CEO, The Forbes Funds
- Recognition of Industry & Community Partners: Scott Kiesling, Ph.D. & Abdesalam Soudi, Ph.D.
Afternoon Speech Events
Speakers
- Jack Sidnell, Professor, Linguistic Anthropology, University of Toronto: 1:00PM
On Understanding and the Powers of Language
- Fred Brown, CEO, The Forbes Funds
Cross-Disciplinary Panels: Exploring Interconnected Discourses (Bios will be posted shortly)
Compassion in Community: Reflecting on Our Framework: 2:00PM - 3:00PM
- Catherine G. Cordova, Ph.D., Director of Community Engaged Learning - David C. Frederick Honors College
- Ena Lebel, Esq., Executive Director - Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition
- Angela Williams, Executive Director - Charles Street Area Corporation
- Susan Baida, Executive Director - The Collaboratory Against Hate
- Jamie Scanlon, Project Manager - The Collaboratory Against Hate
- Cristen Hughes, Head of Solutions Architecture - Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Exploring The Power of Language & Narrative: 3:00PM - 4:00PM
- Saket Rao, Behavioral Scientist & Tony Jiang, Behavioral Science Analyst- HRW, London, England, NYC, USA
- Gaetan Sgro, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine - Division of General Internal Medicine University of Pittsburgh
- Alisa Khan, MD, MPH, Director, Program for Language Equity, Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics - Boston Children's Hospital; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
- Ashley Karlin, Ph.D., Senior Technical Writer - Salesforce
- Theresa Kowcheck, Director of Literacy - Edge
Unite and Ignite: Engaging Students, Interns, Alumni, and Partners 4:00PM - 5:00PM
Abdesalam Soudi, Ph.D.; Gayle Rogers, Ph.D. (Session Moderators)
Office hours with industry and community partners:
Theresa Kowcheck, Director of Literacy - Edge
Cristen Hughes, Head of Solutions Architecture - Amazon Web Services
Randi Moore, Taxonomist - Govini
Derry Moore, Senior Linguist - Decodis
Janelle J. Christensen, Medical Anthropologist - Project Manager, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Executive Sponsor
The Year of Discourse and Dialogue at Pitt
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Corporate Sponsor
The University of Pittsburgh's David C. Frederick Honors College
Bronze Sponsor
TOPICAL FOCUS
Project Overview
Welcome to the 7th edition of the Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Humanities @ Work in the Community, Health, and Tech Industries, a gathering that promises to be an insightful exploration of the intersections between various fields. This event is scheduled for Friday, April 12, 2024. Our collective commitment is to amplify the practical significance of the humanities, forge robust human connections, encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration, and actively contribute to the ongoing betterment of our society.
This year's timely theme, "Cultivating Compassion, Civil Discourse, and Embracing the Power of Language," aims to establish profound connections, promote inclusivity, and enhance the overall well-being of individuals and communities. Our aim is to cultivate a profound understanding of how compassion, when embraced, can yield a positive impact on our community and transcend the barriers that often divide us. Furthermore, the theme recognizes the inherent power of language for effective cross-cultural communication and understanding.
In line with its tradition, the conference will feature cross-disciplinary training opportunities, and will engage students, interns, alumni, community, and industry partners, as well as staff and faculty from diverse disciplines. The conference will explore timely questions such as why technology, why health, why community, why government, and why the entire world deeply and desperately needs humanities intervention to improve life, work, and the overall human experience.
Join us in this exploration, where meaningful dialogues and collaborative efforts will pave the way for a more interconnected, compassionate, and linguistically empowered future.
This cross-disciplinary conference project will cover a broad range of related content which will allow us to engage diverse communities:
- Essential Humanities Skills for a Comprehensive Education
- Doing Things with Words: Framing, Power, Identity, Belonging, Persuasion and Rhetoric
- The Power of Compassion, Building Community, and Cultivating Compassionate Learning Environments
- Fostering Cultural Humility, Compassion, Unity and Empathy in Interpersonal Relations
- Building Cross-Cultural Communities
- Health, Language, Religion, and Spirituality (HeaLRS) @ The David C. Frederick Honors College
- Humanities in Health, Linguistic Justice, SDOH
- Integration of Humanities in Tech, lifelong learning
- Promoting Inclusivity to Elevate the Well-being of Individuals and Communities
- Student Success, Cross-Disciplinary Training Models, Internships
- Person-centered care