The City University of New York announced that it will host the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) Convening on October 28-29 in partnership with colleges and universities committed to applying technological skills, knowledge, design, and practice to questions of individual rights, justice, social welfare, and the public good.
New America, a nonpartisan public policy think tank and action organization, formed PIT-UN in partnership with the Ford Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation.
The two-day PIT-UN Convening seeks to inspire the next generation of technologists working as engineers, designers, computer and data scientists, and those interested in using their technological skills in service of the public good.
The Convening will feature two dynamic keynote speakers, Julian Brave NoiseCat and Ingrid LaFleur, whose work spans policy, technology, journalism, culture, art, activism, and advocacy. These speakers will support the event’s focus on climate justice, food justice, and racial justice.
“Having served the public interest for 175 years, it makes sense that CUNY, the country’s largest and most diverse urban public university system, is hosting this national event,” said Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez in a statement. “CUNY’s engagement with PIT-UN provides an opportunity to inspire and support innovations in interdisciplinary education and scholarship. CUNY and PIT-UN’s shared commitment to equity and social justice, curricular innovation, and workforce development has blossomed into a productive partnership in this field-building enterprise.”
This year’s convening co-chairs are Effie MacLachlan, Ph.D., director of grants and research programs in the Office of Research at CUNY and PIT-UN university designee, and College of Staten Island professor Katie Cumiskey, Ph.D., who is the recipient of more than $235,000 of Challenge Grant funding to build the PIT@CSI program and the CUNY PIT Lab.
Last year, $3.61 million in PIT-UN Challenge Grants were awarded to 31 recipients; the awards were given exclusively to faculty at PIT-UN’s member institutions.
The Public Interest Technology University Network is a partnership of 48 colleges and universities convened by New America, the Ford Foundation, and the Hewlett Foundation.
The network and challenge grants are funded through the support of the Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, and Mastercard Impact Fund, with support from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, The Raikes Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and The Siegel Family Endowment.
PIT-UN is dedicated to building the field of public interest technology through curriculum development, faculty research opportunities, and experiential learning programs, in order to inspire a new generation of civic-minded technologists and policy leaders.
The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges, and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving over 243,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 55,000 degrees each year.
More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants.
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