Deb Erdley stories, Page 39

Margaret Watkins, a member of the Saint Vincent College philosophy faculty since 2009, was named dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Studies, officials at the Unity college announced Monday. Watkins was named a professor in 2018. She previously filled in as interim dean of the school. During...

Allegheny County defense attorney Ryan James, 34, of White Oak, will seek the nomination to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, he announced Monday. Two 10-year terms are up for grabs on the statewide appellate court that hears first appeals on most criminal and civil court rulings. After getting a law degree...

Pity poor David Ankin. At least he had an excuse for trying to avoid icy winds cutting through the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus. “I lost my hat yesterday and was too busy to buy a new one,” Ankin, a computer science major at Pitt, wrote on an online petition...

One day before the deadline for comments, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf went on record opposing the federal government’s proposed rollbacks in regulations governing allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault in schools and colleges. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Wolf voiced concerns Tuesday about proposed...

Pennsylvania lawmakers and county leaders must move quickly to secure the state’s election infrastructure in advance of the 2020 presidential election, an independent bipartisan commission said Tuesday. The Blue Ribbon Commission on Pennsylvania’s Election Security recommended that the state and federal government provide money to help underwrite the costs for...

New York on Monday was poised to become the 10th state to temporarily suspend the statute of limitations to provide adult survivors of child sexual abuse an opportunity to sue their abusers. Child protection advocates said the new law, passed only after a change of leadership in that state’s Senate,...

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency’s FedLoan Servicing unit will begin taking applications Feb. 1 for reconsideration from teachers who believe their federal TEACH grants were erroneously converted to loans. Those accepted for reconsideration will see their debt erased and any loan payments that were made refunded, PHEAA officials said....

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will wade into the weeds to gauge public interest in legalizing recreational marijuana during a 67-county tour of the state beginning Saturday in Pittsburgh. On Thursday, Fetterman, the former Braddock mayor who was sworn in as lieutenant governor last week, said he is planning a...

College acceptance notifications are occasion for celebration; but there are some exceptions. The Tampa Bay Tribune reported that this year’s exception was the University of South Florida, where someone hit a send button that sent email notifications soaring through the ether to some 680 applicants who had applied to the...

A physician who led the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine to national prominence in research circles announced Wednesday he is stepping aside from his post as senior vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine. Pitt officials said Dr. Arthur S. Levine, who came to...

Five months after a scathing grand jury report detailed rampant allegations of clergy sexual abuse in Catholics diocese across Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese has begun accepting compensation claims from clergy sexual abuse survivors. Church officials said they began reaching out this week to inform survivors who notified the church...

Penn State, which came under fire following the Feb. 2017 death of 19 year-old Timothy Piazza in an alcohol-fueled fraternity pledge event, is opening a research center to study Greek life on college campuses. University officials Tuesday pledged $2 million toward the creation of the Timothy J. Piazza Center for...

A recent state audit found the Rostraver Township Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Association needs to increase its bond to cover cash assets. Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said the association was in compliance with all other applicable state laws, contracts, bylaws and administrative procedures as they relate to the receipt of...

The Greensburg Catholic Diocese is launching a marketing and recruitment drive for its 13 Catholic schools at church Masses next week. The kickoff, scheduled to begin in advance of enrollment open houses at schools in Armstrong, Fayette, Indiana and Westmoreland counties, will feature students, parents, teachers and staff members at...

Pennsylvania’s top Democrat in the state Senate could get support from a Westmoreland County Republican in setting up a no-interest loan fund for federal employees and contractors in the state affected by the partial government shutdown. Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa Jr., D-Forest Hills, on Thursday began circulating a memo...

Daniel Greenstein, the new chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, on Wednesday called upon stakeholders to begin transforming the struggling university system where enrollment has dropped by more than 21,000 over the past decade. Greenstein took over leadership of the system last fall as officials wrestled with...

As the partial federal government shutdown edged toward its 25th day, officials at the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania urged government employees facing financial difficulties to contact its 2-1-1 services for assistance. Some 800,000 federal employees across the nation have been furloughed or ordered to work without pay and thousands...

Pennsylvania state court officials are preparing a massive initiative that could pave the way for courts across the country to offer people convicted of minor offenses a fresh start outside the shadow of their past. In late June, Pennsylvania officials plan to begin running a computer program that will flag...

A Catholic priest from the Erie Diocese on Friday became the second priest sentenced to prison in the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report that detailed allegations of child sexual abuse against 300 Catholic priests and cover-ups by church leaders. A Jefferson County Common Pleas Court Judge sentenced David...

Veterans’ affairs officials are cautioning military veterans to be aware of private contractors offering to process claims for them following the announcement that an Allegheny County company was fined $10,000 after an employee falsely held himself out as an accredited veteran’s services agent. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said agents...

There is no question that longtime Westmoreland County Community College nursing professor Rebecca Gediminskas has the respect of her students and her peers. For the third time in 20 years, they honored her as WCCC’s Outstanding Teacher of the year. Gediminskas, of Irwin, previously received the award, which faculty present...

Add Saint Vincent College to the growing list of Westmoreland County institutions hosting undergraduate nursing degree programs. Saint Vincent, which offers a master’s and doctorate program for nurse anesthetists in conjunction with Excela Health System, will partner with Carlow University beginning this fall to offer a bachelor of science in...

State Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, was named to the GOP Senate leadership Tuesday as the Republican Senate caucus regrouped for 2019. The appointment came a day after Ward, now in her third term, was named chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, announced...

A Seton Hill University dean and professor of music who led the efforts to build two new centers for art and performing arts at the Greensburg university will be the next dean of the College of Fine Arts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. IUP officials Monday announced the selection of...