News

• RMU and the Pittsburgh Penguins have announced a new leadership development partnership, made possible by the Office of Corporate Relations and Strategic Initiatives. As the official leadership development partner of the Pens, the university provides customized leadership development opportunities to employees of all levels in the Penguins organization -- while the team provides educational opportunities for RMU students. Read more here. 

• Senior marketing major Madison Heidenreich was the winner of the Second Annual PITT-OHIO Sales Challenge, sponsored by the Center for Sales Excellence at Robert Morris University and PITT-OHIO on March 27. The Second Annual PITT-OHIO Sales Challenge was a one-day, two-round sales role-play competition open to undergraduate students from universities in the region. The schools that participated in the challenge were Robert Morris University, The University of Dayton, Slippery Rock University, West Virginia University, and Old Dominion University. The students played the role of a sales professional in this tournament-style competition and competed for monetary prizes. They played the role of a sales representative from PITT-OHIO selling to McKesson Corporation. All registered students competed in Round 1 using the Round 1 role play scenario as a guide. Groups of 4 students were assigned to each role-play room and had 15 minutes for their presentation. The top scoring student from each role-play room moved on to Round 2 using Round 2 role play scenario as a guide and again had 20 minutes for their presentation. The challenge was held virtually.

• A supercomputer simulation has reproduced traumatic brain injury (TBI) at a higher level of detail and under more conditions than ever before, identifying key factors in causing strain to brain tissues. The RMU-led study, featuring principal investigator Rika Carlsen, using the Bridges platform at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, promises a better understanding of TBI that may lead to better means of protecting service members, athletes and the general public. Read more here. 

• The RMU Counseling Center is pleased to introduce the newest member of our team, Ryann Burick, Counselor-in-Residence. Ryann received her master's degree in social work from Edinboro University and has experience in both clinical care and crisis intervention. Prior to joining our team, Ryann was a suicide crisis worker for Mercer County Behavioral Health Commission, provided crisis support for Allegheny College, and has served in multiple outpatient mental health roles. Ryann is certified to teach Mental Health First Aid and Question Persuade Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention training. The Counselor-in-Residence position is a grant-funded position made available from the Citrone 33 Foundation and will provide our resident students with a counselor who is easily accessible for short-term counseling, crisis intervention, and wellness programming. During business hours, Ryann Burick's office is located in the Office of Residence Life where she will meet with students and provide wellness programs and services. The location of her office is intentional, as it will help to reduce the stigma and barriers for students seeking counseling services. After hours, Ryann is available and on-call to respond to students in need of crisis intervention. Please join us in welcoming Ryann to RMU.

• A prescription drug dropbox is now available for RMU community use in the Barry Center. This service has been made possible by the state-funded Opioid Prevention in Higher Education grant project. Please use this service to safely dispose of expired and prescription drugs. The opioid dropbox is a safe place to dispose of medications with no questions asked. All medications to be disposed of should be contained in their original bottle or placed inside a small sealed container (like a zip lock bag) with all personal identifying information removed. Only the following items can be disposed of in the dropbox:

  -Over-the-counter medication
  -Prescription medications
  -Prescription patches
  -Prescription ointments
  -Vitamins
  -Pet medicines

      You may not drop off:

       -Hydrogen peroxide
       -Compressed cylinders or aerosols (e.g., asthma inhalers)
       -Iodine-containing medications
       -Thermometers
       -Alcohol & illicit drugs (i.e. marijuana, heroin, LSD, etc.)

Personal Mention

• Sylvia Pamboukian, professor of English and associate director of the University Honors Program, is a contributor to Approaches to Teaching Jane Austen's Persuasion, part of the Approaches to Teaching series from the Modern Language Association, being published in June. 
   
• Anthony Robins, chief diversity and inclusion officer and associate professor of biology, gave the keynote address April 5 as part of National Public Health Week in the Creighton University Master of Public Health program. His talk was titled "The 'Good Enough' Place: Envisioning a Healthy Urban Habitat."

Upcoming Events

• The Center for Innovation and Outreach invites you to attend our third Virtual Innovation Speaker Series event, featuring Rayid Ghani: "Doing Good with Data Science: Fairly and Equitably." Rayid Ghani, Distinguished Career Professor in the Machine Learning Department and the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, today, April 9, from noon to 1 p.m. Please register in advance for this event using this link. 

• The final Rooney Program Reunion Panel of the year will tackle "The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Engineering Processes: Perspectives from Turkey, Cypress, the U.K., and the U.S." from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14. Click here to RSVP.

• Join the Robert Morris University Trees Network on Monday, April 19, at 7 p.m. for an evening with the authors of Allies and Obstacles: Disability Activism and Parents of Children with Disabilities. Allies and Obstacles addresses an understudied aspect of disability advocacy: the nature and history of activism by parents of people with disabilities, and its relationship to the Disability Rights Movement. No purchase necessary. To join the discussion, simply email oosterhous@rmu.edu. Purchase the book here. Use code TURM2021 for 30% off.

Weekend Sports

• Friday, April 9
  • Women's lacrosse vs. KSU, noon - Watch and listen on the RMU Gameday App
  • Softball vs. UIC, doubleheader, 3 p.m. - Watch and listen on the RMU Gameday App
• Saturday, April 10
  • Men's lacrosse vs. CSU, 1 p.m. - Watch and listen on the RMU Gameday App
  • Softball vs. UIC, doubleheader, 1 p.m. - Watch and listen on the RMU Gameday App