Students, Faculty to Compete in Pitch Competition for Rangos Prizes

Eleven teams of faculty and students have just “Four Minutes to Win It.”

The teams will compete for $1,000 prizes in the John G. Rangos Sr. Prizes Pitch Competition Tuesday, Feb. 25, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Power Center Ballroom. The event is open to the campus community, and a list of participating teams can be viewed on the Rangos Prizes website.

The John G. Rangos Sr. Prizes were designed to inspire students and faculty to work to enhance Duquesne’s curriculum, ensuring that it remains relevant and prepares students for productive futures.

Students and faculty will have four minutes to present their ideas before a panel of judges, and event attendees will have the opportunity to provide comments via an online survey throughout the event. A reception in the Shepperson Suite will immediately follow the presentations.

Feedback from judges and event attendees will be compiled for consideration, and winners of the 2020 John G. Rangos Sr. Prizes will be announced in March. Winning student and faculty teams will receive $1,000.

During the pitch competition event, three teams that received prizes as members of the 2019 prize cohort will be recognized. These $5,000 prizes were awarded through a competition process in which Advancing Applicants were asked to discuss the progress they have made on their projects and to demonstrate how additional funding from the Rangos Prizes program would support the ongoing development of their idea.

2019 Advancing Applicant winners include:

• Drs. Richard Simpson, Regina Harbourne and Patrick Cooper
  A Mobile Clinic and Makerspace
• Nicole Lucente and Delaney Batik (student team)
  Collaborative Innovation Workshop
• Drs. Rick McCown and Norman Conti
  Community Based Research & Development: A Cross-Sector, Interdisciplinary, and Intergenerational program.

Drs. Cathleen Appelt, Jessica Devido and Andrew Simpson received an honorable mention award for their project, titled Health Inequalities, Professional Preparation and the Pittsburgh Region: A Multidisciplinary, Community-Engaged Course to Prepare Generation Z for the Future.

The 2019 Advancing Applicant winners, along with this year’s pitch competition winners from the New Applicant track, will compete next year for $10,000 in funding to support the implementation of their idea.

RSVPs for the pitch competition are appreciated, but not required.