Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

Overview

Since the beginning of the University’s landmark fundraising campaign in 1997, Arts and Sciences has received gifts that have established more than 200 endowed funds, including nine chairs, 11 fellowships, 81 scholarships and student resource funds, and 25 awards. This fall, Arts and Sciences celebrated its largest monetary gift from an individual donor—$3 million from Bettye and Ralph Bailey to establish the Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Deanship in the school. This gift has established an endowment that will be used by the dean as a discretionary fund to support the development and enhancement of programs throughout the School of Arts and Sciences.

For more information about the School of Arts and Sciences,
visit www.as.pitt.edu.

Donor Spotlight

Bettye and Ralph Bailey

Support the School of Arts and Sciences with $3 Million Gift

The University of Pittsburgh has received $3 million from Bettye and Ralph Bailey to establish the Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Deanship in the School of Arts and Sciences. This gift has established an endowment that will be used by the dean as a discretionary fund to support the development and enhancement of programs throughout the School of Arts and Sciences. N. John Cooper, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences since 1998, will be the inaugural holder of the Bailey Deanship.

“We are immensely grateful to Bettye and Ralph Bailey for making this historic gift, which will have a meaningful, measurable impact on the quality of our programs,” Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg said. “I take special pleasure in knowing that this named endowment has created an ongoing link between the Baileys and Pitt.”

The School of Arts and Sciences-with its world-class faculty and acclaimed programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences-constitutes the liberal arts core of the University of Pittsburgh and has served as an academic launching pad for some of Pitt's most celebrated alumni, from Academy Award-winning film legend Gene Kelly and multiple Grammy award-winning music director of the New York Philharmonic Lorin Maazel to Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon, physiology or medicine Nobel laureate Paul Lauterbur, and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Wangari Muta Maathai.

“I extend my deepest appreciation to the Baileys for their outstanding leadership gift to the School of Arts and Sciences,” said Cooper. “Their understanding and support of the transformational power of higher education is apparent through this generous contribution, and their endowment will help us meet our aspirations for the programs we offer to students in Arts and Sciences and the College of General Studies.”

Bettye Bailey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Pitt's College of General Studies in 1984. She is a former member of the Wilmington College Board of Trustees and is a dedicated volunteer to the University of Pittsburgh.

Ralph Bailey is a graduate of Purdue University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. He is a retired chair and CEO of Conoco, Inc. He also served as chair and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Consolidation Coal Company (now Consol Energy) and vice chair of Dupont. Currently, he serves as chair of Fuel Tech, Inc., and American Bailey Corporation.

In addition to making their endowed deanship gift, the Baileys also established the Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Scholarship Fund in Pitt's College of General Studies in 2005 to provide tuition support for part-time, nontraditional students.

Dean of Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences since 1998, N. John Cooper joined Pitt's faculty as a professor of chemistry in 1986 and served as chair of Pitt's Department of Chemistry from 1989 to 1994. In 2006, he also was named dean of Pitt's College of General Studies. Cooper earned his bachelor's and doctoral degrees in chemistry at Oxford University, where he was a Scholar of Balliol. From 1976 to 1986, he was a research fellow and faculty member at Harvard University, where he was appointed Loeb Associate Professor of Natural Sciences in 1984. His research is in synthetic and mechanistic organometallic chemistry, and he has published more than 80 refereed articles in the major international journals in his field. Academic honors that he has received include appointment as a Fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the award of the 1986 Corday-Morgan Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Contact Us

Thomas W. Golightly

Senior Executive Director of Development and School Advancement
Office: 910 Cathedral of Learning
Phone: 412-624-3201
E-mail: twg3@pitt.edu

Thomas Golightly joined the School of Arts and Sciences in January 2005, and later assumed responsibility for the fundraisng for the College of General Studies and the University Honors College in 2006. Prior to assuming his current position as Executive Director of Development and School Advancement in 2005, Thomas held planned giving positions with the University of Pittsburgh and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation. His 20 years of fundraising experience began as an Associate Capital Campaign Director with Ketchum Inc., where he later rose to Campaign Director. Thomas received a Bachelor of Arts in organizational communication from Purdue University.

Andrew D. Falk

Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Office: 910 Cathedral of Learning
Phone: 412-624-6085
Fax: 412-624-1893
E-mail: adf23@pitt.edu

Andrew Falk joined the School of Arts and Sciences, the College of General Studies, and the University Honors College in May 2001. Before working as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, Andrew was a consultant and intern with the Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania. He also interned with the James Ford Bell Foundation at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Andrew was co-owner and president of Shadyside Ski and Bike Inc. Andrew received his bachelor’s in government from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1986. In 1994 he received a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, specifically in public finance. Andrew is a trustee of the Falk Foundation, serving on the advisory committee of the Foundation’s Leon Falk Family Fund. He also raised funds, marshaled political will, and helped to restore a community park with the community-based green space preservation committee, Save It Don’t Pave It.

Kathy Jo McElwain

Director of Planned Giving
Office: 910 Cathedral of Learning
Phone: 412-624-3204
Fax: 412-624-1893
E-mail: kjmcel@pitt.edu

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Kathy Jo McElwain returned to Pitt and began working in development at the University in 2002 in the School of Education and then moved into the School of Arts and Sciences. Previously, she taught at Slippery Rock Area High School and was an instructor and program administrator at Bradford Business School. Kathy Jo has also done development work at Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne University and Winchester Thurston School. Within each of these positions, she has helped to raise money through various fundraising efforts. Kathy Jo received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Geneva College and a Master of Education from the University of Pittsburgh. In her free time, Kathy Jo enjoys traveling, volunteering at her church, and spending time with her family and friends.

Fay Lauro

Major Gifts Associate
Office: 910 Cathedral of Learning
Phone: 412-648-3365
Fax: 412-624-1893
E-mail: lauro@as.pitt.edu

Fay Lauro began working for the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of General Studies, and the University Honors College in February 2006 and became a full-time employee on April 1, 2006. Thus, she is very fond of April Fool’s Day. Previously she has worked for the Pittsburgh Playhouse, the Center for Hazardous Materials Research, New York Life Insurance Company, and the Southwest Pittsburgh Community Development Corporation. Fay has volunteered with Financial Partners, the Sheraden Block Watch, and the Sheraden Community Development Corporation. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in music.

Lauren Henry

Charitable Relations Manager
Office: 910 Cathedral of Learning
Phone: 412-624-0229
Fax: 412-624-1893
E-mail: hlauren@pitt.edu

Joelleen Yerace

Director of Constituent Relations
Office: 910 Cathedral of Learning
Phone: 412-624-7283
Fax: 412-624-1893
E-mail: jpb38@pitt.edu

Joelleen Yerace joined the School of Arts and Sciences as the Director of Constituent Relations in May 2010.  In this newly created position, her responsibilities include building relationships with Arts and Sciences graduates by establishing individual connections, assisting departments in the development of alumni and friends programs, and coordinating school-level alumni events.  Joelleen began her career at the University of Pittsburgh in February 2006.  Prior to joining the School of Arts and Sciences, Yerace served in a similar role for the University's School of Information Sciences, and as a Major Gift Associate in the Office of Institutional Advancement.  Joelleen earned a B.A. in Political Science from Allegheny College, and a M.Ed in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.