After an accomplished 30-year career at the University of Pittsburgh, Darlene Zellers will be retiring from her current positions as associate vice chancellor for academic career development, health sciences; director of the Office of Academic Career Development (OACD), health sciences; and associate dean for postdoctoral affairs, School of Medicine, effective Dec. 31.
Zellers joined Pitt in 1995 as director of the Office of Summer Sessions and Continuing Education, and, in 1997, became associate dean of continuing education and summer programs in the College of General Studies. She previously held administrative posts at the Community College of Allegheny County and Duquesne University.
Recruited in 2003 to direct the OACD, Zellers built a model infrastructure for professional career development to enhance the recruitment, retention and academic success of biomedical scientists and clinicians within the University’s six schools of health sciences, at every level of experience, according to an announcement from Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor, health sciences.
Under her leadership, programs such as the Health Sciences Research Series and the Thriving in Medicine and Science Forum (formerly the Women in Medicine and Science Forum), brought together thousands of trainees and faculty across campus. The University of Pittsburgh Institutional Training Grant Summit, held in 2022, was a collaborative project spearheaded by Zellers that engaged Pitt’s entire academic community to formulate a strategic approach to supporting the University’s institutional training grant programs across campus and across funding agencies. The summit led to the establishment of a University-wide institutional training grant advisory committee that Zellers was appointed to co-chair.
In 2009, Dr. Zellers launched the Center for Postdoctoral Affairs in the Health Sciences within the OACD and drove the creation of the Postdoctoral Career Development and Progress Assessment Process, which incorporated best practices in postdoctoral training. Zellers has been a long-standing supporter of the University’s Postdoctoral Association, receiving its Postdoctoral Advocate Award in 2012. Her work with the Office of the Provost advocating for a standing committee to oversee postdoctoral training campus wide, led to the establishment of the Provost’s Postdoctoral Affairs Committee, of which she was appointed co-chair.
Zellers has published in the fields of continuing higher education and professional career development, and her research interests are academic cultures, professional career development, and program development. She received a BS in individual and family studies from Pennsylvania State University, an MA in administrative and policy studies and a PhD in higher education administration from Pitt.