Wikipedia:Visiting Scholars/Participating institutions/University of Pittsburgh
About the University of Pittsburgh
[edit]The University of Pittsburgh (aka PITT) is a state-related research university in western Pennsylvania. It was founded on the edge of the American frontier as the Pittsburgh Academy in 1787, and evolved into the University of Pittsburgh in 1908. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and serves 28,766 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. The university has an annual operating budget of approximately $2 billion that includes nearly $900 million in research and development expenditures. A member of the Association of American Universities, Pitt is the sixth largest recipient of federally sponsored research funding among U.S. universities in 2013 and is a major recipient of research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Pitt has been placed among the top public universities in the United States and has been listed as a "best value" in higher education by multiple publications.
Overview of library resources
[edit]- The Archives of Industrial Society (AIS) largely documents the rapid growth of Pittsburgh as a post-industrial society. Some of the records which best reflect this include the Allegheny Conference on Community Development Records, Pennsylvania Economy League Records, Park Martin Papers, Edward Smuts Papers, Neighborhood Centers Association Records, Kingsley House Association Records, Brashear Association Records, and the Pittsburgh Public Schools Records.
- The Archives of Scientific Philosophy: serves as the legacy of the major philosophers of science of the 20th century and strives to collect the personal papers, professional papers, manuscripts, and other working materials of leading philosophers of science or scientist/philosophers.
- The Ford E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection: serves as an archive of theatre history and the performing arts in western Pennsylvania, especially the Pittsburgh region. The collection consists of several thousand volumes of play scripts, acting editions, histories, and critical works of the theatre and drama, nearly 500,000 theatre programs, plus periodicals, posters, ephemera, rare scrapbooks, personal papers, organizational records, and over 20,000 photographs that illustrate and illuminate theatre history in Pittsburgh from the mid-nineteenth century until present day.
- The Literary and Historical Manuscripts Collections: consists of the manuscript records of novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, poets, and other significant literary or historical figures such as Hervey Allen, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Ramon Gomez de la Serna, and Gerald Stern. Collections include handwritten, typed, or word-processed versions of novels, stories, poems, scripts, articles and books as originally produced by these authors, often in multiple drafts and annotated, as well as correspondence, diaries, journals, photographs, and memorabilia.
- The William M. Darlington collection: consists books, manuscripts, atlases, and maps which are strong in colonial American history, especially as it relates to Western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Valley. Example exhibits and guides include Discovery and Exploration and William M. Darlington: Selections from a Collector's Life.
- The Frick Fine Arts Library and University Art Gallery, both located in the Frick Fine Arts Building at the University of Pittsburgh, contain valuable information on the architectural history of the Frick Fine Arts Building, the permanent collection in the University Art Gallery, as well as the Nicholas Lochoff frescos. Architectural elevations are currently being digitized.
- Over 1000 finding aids online that describe our archival and manuscript holdings; some have links to digitized objects.
- Over 1.5 million images online via Historic Pittsburgh, Documenting Pitt, Darlington Digital Library, and our general listing of digitized collections.
- The University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh publishes more than 35 scholarly, peer-reviewed online journals. We publish with partners from the Pitt community as well as scholars from universities and scholarly societies around the world.
Current Visiting Scholars
[edit]Barbara (WVS)
[edit]Barbara (WVS) (talk · contribs) (also edits as Bfpage) was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh from 2015-2019. Barbara contributes to a wide range of topics, often inspired by the University of Pittsburgh's collections on historical topics. In March 2017, Barbara celebrated her 10-year anniversary as a Wikipedian.
- Highlights
- Improved more than 1000 articles which have been viewed more than 100 million times.
- Developed high-quality health and medicine information on topics like trichomoniasis, adolescent sexuality, bacteriocin, Bifidobacterium longum, breastfeeding, feline zoonosis, gut flora, Lactobacillus paracasei, chlamydia infection, Staphylococcus aureus, miscarriage, and thrombosis prevention.
- Brought the Whiskey Rebellion article to Good Article status with content from the University of Pittsburgh archives.
- Improved content in eight different Wikipedias: English, Simple English, Kreyol Ayisen, Portuguese, Italian, German, Esperanto and French.
- Translated articles about women's health topics from English to Kreyol Ayisien and Simple English
- Over 25,000 edits as Barbara (WVS) and over 19,000 edits as Bfpage
- 182 images uploaded to Wikimedia Commons
- Created neonatal infection, uterine microbiome, and serial rapist, which were featured in the Did You Know section of Wikipedia's Main Page
- Media
- University of Pittsburgh welcomes two Visiting Scholars - Wiki Education blog (25 September 2015)
- The Wikipedia Visiting Scholar Program and Why It Works for Women - Wikimedia Diversity Conference (17 June 2016)
- UPitt Visiting Scholar is opening access to women’s health information - Wiki Education blog (28 June 2016)
- Volunteer Expands Pitt's Reach, One Wikipedia Citation at a Time - PittChronicle (22 August 2016)
- American Archives Month- Using Archives in Wikipedia - Archives Service Center @ Pitt (27 October 2016)
- Meet the nonprofit responsible for adding educational content to Wikipedia by LiAnna Davis, Wiki Education blog (5 December 2016)
- Library searches for ‘Wikipedian’ The Temple News, Temple University. (6 September 2016)
- Pitz, Marylynne, A Wikipedia Woman of Letters. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (11 December 2016)
- Pitt Med Magazine, (Spring 2017) The University of Pittsburgh Medical School Magazine.
- CCAC to serve as a host for Northeast Regional Honors Council Conference in April Community College of Allgheny County. (8 March 2017)
Past Visiting Scholars
[edit]Seattle
[edit]Seattle (talk · contribs) was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh from 2015-2017, focusing on topics related to the history of Pittsburgh.
- Highlights
- Added dozens of images from the University of Pittsburgh's collections to Wikimedia Commons, including a set of photos of Pittsburgh mayors. See all of Seattle's uploads in this gallery.
- Created or improved more than 75 articles, including:
- Media
- University of Pittsburgh welcomes two Visiting Scholars - Wiki Education blog (25 September 2015)
- "Did You Know?" highlights Visiting Scholar article on Pittsburgh folk musician - Wiki Education blog (9 February 2016)
- American Archives Month- Using Archives in Wikipedia - Archives Service Center @ Pitt (27 October 2016)
Position announcements
[edit]The University of Pittsburgh is not currently accepting applications. Please see Wikipedia:Visiting Scholars/Apply for other options.