One of the best ways to know the University of Pittsburgh is to know our distinguished faculty, which includes renowned authors, philosophers, engineers, educators, health experts, transplant surgeons and other physicians--scientists, business leaders, social scientists, and more. The University's faculty roster includes more than 100 African Americans at the Pittsburgh campus, as well as a range of individuals who work actively to advance diversity in the classroom and across campus. Some of Pitt's distinguished faculty members include:

Nathan Davis, a specialist in jazz and African music, is a highly accomplished theorist and musician. He has performed with jazz greats such as Grover Washington Jr., Art Blakey, and Charlie Mingus. Each year, he organizes a jazz seminar and concert that brings legendary jazz performers to Pittsburgh. Toi Derricotte, an internationally recognized poet and author, has won many awards including two fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pioneering in the Arts Award from National Black Artists, Inc., and a prestigious Pushcart Prize. Jonathan Harris teaches political science with a focus on the government and politics of the USSR/Russian federation. His expertise includes international and comparative politics. He is a core faculty member in the University's Center for Russian and East European Studies, which is one of five national resource centers at Pitt designated by the U.S. Department of Education. Sandra Murray teaches in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology and conducts biological research at the School of Medicine. She is the school's first African American tenures full professor. Her research focuses on the adrenal gland and hormonal response. Committed to helping young people interested in science, she is a judge at the National Technology Association of Science and the International Science and Engineers Fairs. Bartholomew Nnaji, winner of numerous international engineering and public service awards, holds the Alcoa Foundation Chair Manufacturing Engineering and is the founding editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Design and Manufacturing. Rob Penny, a highly regarded author and scholar is also playwright-in-residence of the Kuntu Repertory Theatre. He has collaborated with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson in founding a local writer's workshop. Velma Scantlebury holds distinction as the African American woman in the field of transplant surgery. She was recently honored with the National Kidney Foundation's "Gift of Life Award" for her work in the field of kidney transplantation with minorities. Beverly Harris-Schenz, recipient of the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award, is administrative head of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University's largest single academic unit for undergraduate students. She teaches Germanic languages and literatures and is creator of an academic enrichment program, "Learn German at Pitt," to encourage middle school students to continue the study of German. Jeanette South-Paul, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine , is the new chairperson of Pitt's Department of Family Medicine. She is the first woman and the first African American to lead an academic department in the School of Medicine. Her academic interests cover the spectrum of family medicine, and she has been widely honored for her professional accomplishments, including the Exemplary Teaching Award of the American Academy of Family Physicians.