60th Anniversary

We’re celebrating our anniversary this year and hope you will join us in the year-long celebration.

As part of our anniversary, we’re planning several events throughout the year that we hope you’ll attend.
We’ll be adding more events to the schedule, so come back again (and again) to see what other events have been added.

Founders’ Day – 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 5 in the quad.
Join us for a complimentary lunch in the quad; music by Pitt-Bradford’s faculty/staff band, Slick; a chance to win some great anniversary merch; and get your photo taken in a vintage VW yellow van. The event is free.
Pitt-Bradford: The Early Years exhibition* – Sept. 5-Oct. 6 in the KOA Art Gallery, Blaisdell Hall An opening reception will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 23 in the gallery. The exhibition will highlight the early years of the university through archived photos from former faculty, staff, alumni and friends. The event is free.
Pitt-Bradford at 60: Lunch and Anniversary Panel Discussion* -- 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 22 in the Mukaiyama University Room, Frame-Westerberg Commons.
Former members of the Pitt-Bradford community will discuss Pitt-Bradford’s first years and share stories, rumors, facts and legends, which helped to shape what the campus has become. The event is free. Seating is limited; advance reservations are required.
Light up the Quad* – 6:30 to 9 p.m. Sept. 22 in the quad.
Join our campus community as we light up the quad in Pitt blue and gold. Enjoy food stations, glow activities, scavenger hunts, giveaways and beverages. The event is free. Advance registration is required. We hope you’ll wear your Pitt blue and gold.
“The Haunting” film screening and lecture – 6 p.m. Oct. 14 in Bromeley Family Theater, Blaisdell Hall.
This event is the first in a series of film screenings and lectures that will be offered during the anniversary year. Matthew Hileman, director of the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center and an adjunct faculty member, will lead a discussion following the film. The event is free.

* These events are part of Alumni and Family Weekend.

What did you learn at Pitt-Bradford? We want to know about the people, classes and experiences that transformed you. Send us any story that you have and would like to share about your time here. Visit www.upbalumni.org/mystory to ﬁll out the form or write to us at Portraits@pitt.edu

Celebrating the history of our campus

Dormitories — Students hang out in front of the original town house apartments.

Dedicating Swarts Hall — Dr. Richard E. McDowell, Pitt-Bradford’s second president, accepts an American flag during the dedication of Swarts Hall. Looking on is then-Pennsylvania Governor Milton Shapp.

Street view of Emery Hotel — The Emery Hotel at the head of Main Street served as Pitt-Bradford’s first – and only – residence hall when the university opened in 1963.

Dr. Sam Fohr teaches philosophy during Pitt-Bradford’s first decade.

Construction of Dormitories — The town house apartments were trucked in to campus and erected in the early 1970s.

Library in Swarts — Before Hanley Library was built, students borrowed books from the library in Swarts Hall.

Swarts groundbreaking — Dr. Donald Swarts, left, Pitt-Bradford’s first president and some students pose with construction equipment at the ground breaking of Swarts Hall in the early 1970s.