Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Pittsburgh Launches Initiative to Support Education Debt Relief and Student Success

  • 10/08/18

PITTSBURGH, PA – The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) has announced the launch of an innovative program related to financing higher education.

Panthers Forward, an initiative of Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, will accommodate up to 150 seniors who will graduate from the Pittsburgh campus in the spring of 2019. Once accepted into the program, participating seniors will each receive up to $5,000, which the university will pay toward their eligible federal student loan balance upon graduation.

Additional details are available on the Panthers Forward website.

As alumni, participants will be asked—but not required—to “pay it forward” via monthly contributions. All donations to Panthers Forward will be reinvested to support future generations of participants and to strengthen and sustain the program. Over time, participants will also become part of an exclusive network of Pitt alumni who will share their professional experiences, perspectives and advice.

“Panthers Forward injects some much-needed innovation into the stagnant landscape of higher education financing,” says Gallagher. “It’s a bold new approach that utilizes a pay-it-forward philosophy and the power of community to position students at the University of Pittsburgh for lifelong success.”  

The university’s Offices of the Chancellor and Institutional Advancement have partnered with Altian Education, a firm founded by three Pitt alumni, for the program’s launch.

“Panthers Forward is not something we’ve seen before,” says Pat O’Donnell (ENGR ’14), Altian Education co-founder. “It is taking one of the most pressing issues facing students today—college debt—and creating a new option that’s more financially flexible, collaborative, and professionally focused.”

A Closer Look: Panthers Forward  
  • This program is open to full-time students on the Pittsburgh campus who are in good academic standing and have received a federal loan to help finance their senior year.
  • Once accepted into the program, participants will have access to an exclusive network of alumni-mentors who are dedicated to supporting the students’ professional success.
  • Shortly after participants graduate, the university will apply funds directly to their federal loan balance. 
  • As Pitt alumni, participants will have an opportunity to “pay it forward” to Pitt students who are following in their path. Donations to Panthers Forward are tax-deductible.
  • Participants are under no contractual obligation to donate up to or more than the amount applied to their federal loan balance, but their voluntary support is critical to sustaining the program and helping future Pitt Panthers.

Featured

  • UT-San Antonio Begins Residence Hall Renovations

    The University of Texas at San Antonio recently began a $6-million renovation project to one of its residence halls, according to a news release. Originally completed in 1986, Chisolm Hall measures in at 120,860 square feet and is the oldest and largest residence hall on campus.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Back-to-School Playground Safety: 7 Common Hazards to Look for After Summer Break

    As summer break comes to an end, school administrators have plenty to prepare before students return. While classrooms, hallways and common areas often receive attention during all the back-to-school preparations, the playground should not be overlooked. Months of weather exposure, storms, and regular wear can leave behind hazards that may not be immediately noticeable.

  • Purdue Fort Wayne Opens New Student Housing Complex

    Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW) in Fort Wayne, Ind., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new, 600-bed student housing complex on campus, according to a news release.