NEWS OF NOTE FROM PITT: New Director Appointed to Ford Institute for Human Security, David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership Teams Up With Office of Human Resources to Offer Training, Certificate for Faculty and Staff

• New Director Appointed to Ford Institute for Human Security
• David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership Teams Up With Office of Human Resources to Offer Training, Certificate for Faculty and Staff

PITTSBURGH— Behind the larger stories about the University of Pittsburgh are other stories of faculty, staff, and student achievement as well as information on Pitt programs reaching new levels of success. The following is a compilation of some of those stories.

New Director Appointed to Ford Institute for Human Security

Pitt Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) Dean John T.S. Keeler has announced that Louis Picard has accepted the directorship of the Ford Institute for Human Security, which promotes research and discussion of human security issues by sponsoring films and speakers and by funding student and faculty research.

Picard joined GSPIA as a faculty member in 1987 and is a former director of the school’s International Development Division. He has been a consultant to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the U.S. Information Agency, and the U.S. Department of State.

Picard is a leading authority on international development with a focus on Africa, as well as on U.S. foreign aid and security policy. He has done extensive fieldwork in South Africa, on which he has written several books. He is the author or editor of 11 books, more than 40 articles and book chapters, as well as numerous reports.

“Lou Picard is an accomplished educator and public policy professional, with ample research experience. I am confident he will continue to engage students and do an outstanding job as director of the Fort Institute for Human Security,” Keeler said.

Picard will succeed Taylor Seybolt, who joined the GSPIA faculty in 2008, has served as director of the Ford Institute since 2009, and will continue to conduct research and teach in his role as a GSPIA faculty member.

Picard said he is looking forward to furthering Seybolt’s agenda for the Ford Institute.  As director, Picard expects to deepen a few of the institute’s current areas of research. One of these areas is the plight of indigenous peoples. 

“There are indigenous peoples on every continent.  These people have lost basic support systems. They are poorer than others and they are often more in need of basic food, access to water, good health and education, and they are now in the process of demanding their human rights and having their human security needs addressed,” explained Picard.

David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership Teams Up With Office of Human Resources to Offer Training, Certificate for Faculty and Staff

The University of Pittsburgh David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business will partner with the Pitt Office of Human Resources to offer Pitt faculty and staff an opportunity to develop their ethical leadership skills this fall by offering Certificate in Organization Leadership and Ethics (COLE) workshops.

The series of six workshops offered through Human Resources’ Faculty and Staff Development Program are designed for supervisors, administrators, and employees who have made the transition from technical or administrative positions into managerial jobs.

The certificate program focuses on competencies that include building and maintaining a responsible workplace, using power and authority responsibly, enhancing team performance, and developing talent through mentoring.

COLE workshops may be taken in any sequence over a five-year period. Faculty and staff may take one or more of these workshops based on interest.

Berg Center Director Audrey J. Murrell said the workshop’s interactive discussions and skill-building exercises help participants learn the essentials of ethical leadership.

“The center partnered with the Office of Human Resources to help the University build the capacity of current leaders and help equip future leaders to step into these roles,” said Murrell. “We saw a great opportunity to provide access to the curriculum we provide students.”

This summer 11 participants completed the COLE program, the first group to earn the certificate. More than 150 participated in COLE workshops during the 2010-11 academic year.

For more information about the COLE program, contact the Berg Center at 412-648- 2168 or visit the FSDP website at http://www.hr.pitt.edu/training-development/faculty-st.

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