Starting Feb. 1, Chuck Staresinic will serve as director of executive speechwriting, splitting time between operations in the Office of the Chancellor and the Office of University Communications.
“Chuck’s knowledge of the University and his experience in collaborating with a variety of Pitt constituents are among the many strengths he brings to this role. I’m excited that he’ll be leading our speechwriting efforts,” said Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications and Marketing Ellen Moran.
Staresinic began his Pitt career in 2000 as a teaching fellow in the Department of English, where he taught General Writing and Introduction to Journalism. In 2003, Staresinic stepped into the first of several communications roles at the University, when he was named senior editor of Pitt Med magazine. While in this position, he received the 2006 Robert G. Fenley Writing Award of Excellence, the highest writing honor awarded by the Association of American Medical Colleges, for his feature on Thomas Starzl, “Only Starzl Dared To.”
In 2010, Staresinic transitioned into his current role as communications director in the Office of Academic Affairs and International Programs, Health Sciences. In this position, he has written essays, editorials and letters in consultation with Arthur S. Levine, senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the School of Medicine. Additionally, he has managed the annual selection process for the Dickson Prize in Medicine, the School of Medicine’s highest honor.
“Sixteen years of working in communications for Pitt’s School of Medicine and the other health sciences schools has shown me that the University really changes people’s lives every day through education, research and community service,” said Staresinic. “I’m excited that my beat now extends beyond the health sciences to encompass all the great work Pitt does in so many other fields and disciplines.”
Staresinic earned his bachelor’s degree in theater arts from Point Park University and studied creative non-fiction in Pitt’s Master of Fine Arts program. He has worked as an environmental reporter and on-air host for The Allegheny Front radio program and a park naturalist at the Frick Environmental Center. Staresinic’s writing has appeared in Washington Post Magazine, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Great Lakes Radio Consortium and The Allegheny Front.