New Pathways Fellowship Will Enrich Community Engagement with Hill District

Formalizing the long-standing relationship between Duquesne University and the Hill District, a longtime civic leader and Hill House employee has been selected as the University’s inaugural Community-Engaged Pathways Community Fellow.

Terri Baltimore, a groundbreaker in Hill House Association operations for 25 years and now director of neighborhood engagement, will work more closely with Duquesne’s Center for Community-Engaged Teaching and Research (CETR) over the next year.

The ultimate goal is to benefit the neighborhood and the University with even more community-serving teaching and research opportunities, shedding light on the importance of such rich partnerships. The Hill House Association and Duquesne have a centuries-old history of partnerships, benefiting Hill District residents and the University staff, faculty and students. The new fellowship brings greater focus upon the advantages of this reciprocal relationship.

“For the Hill House, the fellowship represents an opportunity to deepen community alliances and increase professional development in a unique way,” said Cheryl Hall-Russell, the nonprofit’s president and chief executive officer.

“Ms. Baltimore’s expertise will enrich and elevate the work of community engagement at Duquesne University,” said Dr. Lina Dostilio, director of Duquesne’s CETR.

“We are incredibly proud of Terri and the honor of receiving the fellowship,” Hall-Russell added. “She truly embodies the strong traits of community-based leaders who understand the need and desire for strong, strategic partnerships. Her work has illustrated the wonders of the Hill District and the Hill House, but has also been directed at changing systemic challenges that continue to nag us.”

Baltimore, a published author as well as an advocate, received a journalism degree from Duquesne in 1982. As developer of the Hill District Community Collaborative, she co-founded the Dot Talley Center to provide supportive housing for women and children, as well as Find the Rivers, an organization that promotes economic development, health and wellness around the neighborhood’s green spaces. Additionally, Baltimore conducts tours of the Hill District, and has worked on several research and art projects with adults and children.

Baltimore’s reputation in the community, her knowledge and understanding of issues and relationships will be invaluable moving forward, Dostilio said. “The Pathways Community-Engaged Fellowship presents an opportunity to underscore our nearly 140-year commitment to the Hill District and to our Catholic, Spiritan mission—which fundamentally is concerned with authentic relationships, walking with those on the margins, and opening ourselves to new and diverse perspectives,” Dostilio said.

A substantial contribution to the CETR endowment made the fellowship possible.