Mark your calendars: The annual Iris Marion Young Awards Ceremony will take place this year on Wednesday, December 3, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in the William Pitt Union. A longstanding collaboration between the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) and the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program at Pitt, the Iris Marion Young Awards for Political Engagement celebrate University of Pittsburgh faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students who advance social justice through exemplary political or civic engagement. 

The award was established in 2008 to honor the enduring impact of philosopher and social theorist Iris Marion Young, whose scholarship championed inclusion, justice, and democratic participation. Young taught in the former Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, now SPIA, in the 1990s and a member of the Women’s Studies Program Steering Committee during that period. She is remembered by many at Pitt as a tremendous colleague, mentor, friend, and advocate both at the University and throughout Pittsburgh. 

SPIA is especially excited for this year’s award ceremony, as Associate Professor Sabina Deitrick will receive the Faculty Award. Deitrick is an established member of the SPIA community and co-director of the Urban and Regional Analysis program at Pitt’s University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR).  Her recent research focuses on issues of transition and transformation in post-industrial cities and she is widely respected for her contributions to urban and regional development, community-engaged research, and public policy analysis. Deitrick’s work combines rigorous scholarship with deep community partnerships, embodying the spirit of Iris Marion Young’s call for democratic inclusion and meaningful civic action.