Professional Development

Do you need assistance to speak with your mentor? Are you expecting to have a difficult conversation with a colleague or student? Is your lab team suffering from an open or hidden conflict? Do you have a question about the application of a policy, but don’t know whom to ask? The Health Sciences Ombuds Office can help you with any type of conflict or concern, big or small.

This page developed by University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Communication has everything you need to deliver your next presentation with confidence. Browse the site for tips on planning a presentation, speech writing, practicing your presentation, and coping with public speaking anxiety.

The Oral Communication Lab, located in the Department of Communication in the Cathedral of Learning, offers in-person and virtual public speaking coaching appointments for Pitt students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. You can get advice on research presentations, interviews, press conferences, and other types of speeches. Consultants can work with you at any stage of the process from analyzing audience needs to organizing presentations to practicing delivery skills and coping with speech anxiety.

Visit their webpage to learn more and schedule an appointment.

The Writing Center, located in 317B O’Hara Student Center, offers in-person and virtual writing coaching appointments to Pitt students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. You can get advice on dissertations, article manuscripts, the narrative portions of grant applications, and professional writing such as cover letters, resumes, and CVs. Writing consultants can work with you at any stage of the process—from beginning a writing project to the final read through before submission, and all points in between.

Visit their webpage above to learn more and schedule an appointment.

The Honorific Awards Training Course is an online, self-paced workshop for Pitt faculty, designed to provide an in-depth overview of tactics and strategies to successfully compete for honorific awards. 

The Office of the Provost hosts an annual summit that convenes mentors, advisors, and coaches to discuss new trends and best practices in mentoring and advising.

The summit focuses on specific tools, techniques, theories, and concepts that support students as they chart clear goals and direction for the future, develop enduring networks of colleagues and mentors, and sustain their pursuit of success after graduation.

This is a year-long professional development program for faculty members that is designed to cultivate a generation of transformative academic leaders through shared leadership training.

SPRINGBOARD is a yearlong, required orientation program for new faculty investigators within the first year of their faculty appointment in the schools of the health sciences. SPRINGBOARD provides opportunities for faculty members to learn about each other’s research, about available research-related and other resources at Pitt and beyond, to gain knowledge about grant, personnel, and career management skills, and to meet key members of our research and administrative community.

The Center for Mentoring serves as a central resource to support professional excellence by encouraging growth and development of faculty as mentors, scholars, and teachers. 

An interactive online tool that can be used to help you figure out your career goals.