African American Alumni Council
Alumni Recognitions and Awards
2009 Distinguished Alumni Award Winners with Dr. Boyd and Chancellor NordenbergAfrican American Alumni Council Distinguished Alumni Award 
Presented to African American alumni who have distinguished themselves nationally in their professional careers, in the community and at the University.

2009 Winners of the African American Alumni Council Distinguished Alumni Award are:
  • Robert Agbede - President, Chester Engineers.  Member, Swanson School of Engineering Board of Visitors.  African Chamber of Commerce founding member.

  • Noma Bennett Anderson - An expert in speech pathology, first African American president of the American Speech Language Hearing Association.  Professor and Chair in the Department
    of Communication Science and Disorders at Florida 
    International University.  Co-author Human
    Communication: An Introduction.

  • Nadine Frye - One of first Black women admitted to Pittsburgh's nursing program in 1943.  Earned a Ph.d in Education at Pittsburgh and taught mental health nursing at her alma mater.
  • Bernard Mack - State Farm Insurance franchise owner/agent.  Pittsburgh real estate entrepreneur.  Served twice as president of the African American Alumni Council.
  • Gregory Randall Spencer - President and CEO of Randall Industries.  Founder of Bridging the Gap Development, LLC.  Former senior vice president and chief administrative office of Equitable Resources.  Former chair of the African American Chamber of Commerce.
  • William E. Strickland, Jr. - Youth Development President and CEO Manchester Bidwell Corp.  University of Pittsburgh Trustee, Grammy Award winner, MacArthur Foundation genius award recipient.

Sankofa Awards
Recognize non-alumni who have contributed to the educational growth, success and development of students of African descent at the University. The award is presented bi-annually at homecoming. 


Support Disaster Relief in Haiti


On January 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti.   While the toll is only beginning to be understood, huge parts of the capital are in ruins and there are eyewitness accounts of "total disaster" and chaos.


An estimated 3 million people are struggling with the aftermath of the earthquake. Haitian government officials are estimating death tolls in the thousands, and thousands more are living in the streets.  

Please join recovery efforts mobilizing around the world to assist earthquake victims. Your donation will help disaster victims rebuild their lives and their communities.

Contributions can be made to:

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: Contribute online through www.clintonbushhaitifund.org  » or text QUAKE to 20222 to charge a $10 donation to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund (the donation will be added to your cell phone bill).


Donate $10 to the American Red Cross – charged to your cell phone bill – by texting "HAITI" to "90999"


Donate $5 to Yele Haiti's Earthquake Relief efforts - charged to your cell phone bill by texting "YELE" to 501501.




Web Hosting Companies