Background
The William T. Green Jr. Award in Public Health Studies honors one of Pitt Public Health’s outstanding alumni, William T. Green Jr. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Green came to Pittsburgh in 1970 as assistant professor of orthopedic surgery in the School of Medicine. In 1988, his interest in the pressure of rising costs of health care led him to the executive MBA program at Pitt’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. After his retirement from medicine, he pursued his long-time interest in public health by enrolling at Pitt Public Health, graduating in 2001 with a multidisciplinary master of public health. Upon completion of his public health degree, Green became active with the school’s Alumni Society and was elected as president for 2003-04, during which time he was also Pitt Public Health’s representative to the Pitt Alumni Association board. In 2005, he was awarded the Pitt Alumni Association’s Volunteer Excellence Award in recognition of his outstanding volunteer service to both Pitt Public Health’s and the University’s alumni organizations.
Purpose and Amount of Awards
The Green Award was established to support special student projects that would not otherwise be implemented due to financial restrictions, and it is available annually to eligible students through a competitive application process. Any degree-seeking student enrolled in Pitt Public Health is eligible to apply. The award is open-ended in terms of use and may be applied towards expenditures such as direct research costs, travel, books, and memberships. The applicant must defend the use of the award in the application. Awards of $750 each may be made to up to two students. Five hundred dollars will be posted initially, and the remaining amount upon receipt of the progress summary (see below).
Application Guidelines
Students interested in applying must submit an application with all of the following materials:
- An application form (enclosed below);
- A brief project proposal describing their project request (between two and four pages, see directions below); and
- A letter of support from a member of faculty involved in the project the student is proposing.
The project proposal should be no longer than four typed pages, 12-point font, double-spaced. It should include the following sections:
- Background (how does the student’s project address an important public health problem);
- Project goals and objectives (what will the project do to address this problem);
- Budget justification (how will awarded funds be used); and
- Professional goals (how does this project help the student’s professional development and goals).
The application deadline for Fall is December 4 and the deadline for Spring is March 15. Award winners will be notified by letter.
Review Criteria
A panel composed of the Pitt Public Health associate dean for student affairs (or designee), a Pitt Public Health faculty member assigned by the dean, and a representative of the Green family or The Glory Foundation will review the nominations and make the decision. Awards will be made based upon the applicant’s proposal, the appropriateness of the project, and the faculty letter of support.
Within six months of receiving the award, recipients must submit a two-page summary of their progress and expenses to the Pitt Public Health assistant dean of student affairs, which will be forwarded to the Green family and/or The Glory Foundation. The summary must be submitted before graduation to stuaff@pitt.edu.