City of Pittsburgh Proclaims October 31, 2023, “Carnegie Mellon Forging the Future Day”
By Vu Nguyen
On October 31, 2023, Carnegie Mellon University was recognized by the City of Pittsburgh for its sweeping contributions to the city and the region’s economy, ecosystem, workforce and the next generation of leaders, and to positioning Pittsburgh as a global hub for innovation, robotics and STEM education.
In a proclamation sponsored by City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith, the council declared Tuesday, October 31, 2023, to be "Carnegie Mellon Forging the Future Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.
Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy joined fellow CMU community members to accompany President Farnam Jahanian to the City Council meeting to receive the proclamation. The group also included three high school students from the Girls of Steel robotics program co-founded by CMU faculty members George Kantor and Patti Rote.
In his remarks, Jahanian highlighted the university’s longstanding partnership with the city, noting that "CMU’s history is inextricably linked to our hometown of Pittsburgh. In fact, in recent decades, the city's revival has actually paralleled the rise of Carnegie Mellon as a global institution. And we're so proud of this special symbiotic relationship that we have with the city and the region. Without any doubt our futures are also very much intertwined."
The council’s proclamation specifically recognized the university’s enhanced student experience, its transformational educational opportunities for K-12 students, its technological and workforce advances in manufacturing, its faculty expertise in energy innovation, the economic impact of its groundbreaking work in robotics, and its public-private partnerships that are cultivating a diverse workforce.
President Jahanian noted that the proclamation is truly an honor, saying "We share in the work of catalyzing economic growth, attracting new talent and bolstering opportunities and educational experience for all of Pittsburghers. We're all very deeply invested in Pittsburgh, and we're so delighted to have a strong partnership with both the public and the private sector again."