Campus leaders to discuss role of higher education
Chatham forum includes Canadian educators
A daylong event Tuesday at Chatham University will draw campus leaders from Pittsburgh and three Canadian provinces to discuss the future role of higher education and government and other topics, from immigration to sustainability.
The event in Eddy Theater on Chatham’s Shadyside campus runs from 8:50 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and is part of the university’s 2016-17 Global Focus Year of Canada.
It is free and open to faculty and representatives of education and government, foundations, industry and nonprofits, organizers said.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald will deliver an introduction and opening remarks.
Keynote remarks at 10 a.m. are expected from Carnegie Mellon University professor Justine Cassell on the topic “The Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work: Implications for Higher Education.”
An opening panel at 9 a.m., “The Future of Research and Innovation: The Role of Universities, Governments and Industry,” will include as panelists Subra Suresh, president of CMU; Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, president of the European Research Council; and University of Pittsburgh chancellor Patrick Gallagher. Another campus president, Chris Howard from Robert Morris University, will moderate.
A panel discussion on economic development will be held at 11:15. Participating in that will be Alex Pazuchanics, policy adviser for the City of Pittsburgh; Mohamed Lachemi, president of Ryerson University in Toronto; and Jen Crowley, a representative from Google. The panel will be moderated by Laura Fisher from the Allegheny Conference.
A 1:30 p.m. panel on social
justice and campus activism will include Robert Summerby-Murray, president of St. Mary’s University of Nova Scotia; Suzanne Mellon, president of Carlow University; and Kenneth Gormley, president of Duquesne University. It will be moderated by Community College of Allegheny County president Quintin Bullock.
A panel at 2:50 p.m. on internationalism and the future of higher education will include Jacques Fremont, president of the University of Ottawa; Patti McDougall, vice provost of teaching and learning, University of Saskatchewan; and David Finegold, Chatham’s president. The moderator will be Dan Simpson, a member of the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.