About
Tracy Soska
Pittsburghers have always felt a sense of ownership of “their” University, going back to the Depression, when school children collected pennies to help build the Cathedral of Learning. Tracy Soska, continuing education director and lecturer in the School of Social Work, helps reinforce that connection every day.
As codirector of the Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC), Soska matches students and faculty from the University with local nonprofit agencies that provide small-business development, health care, career training, neighborhood redevelopment, and more. While the talents of Pitt people help community groups both small and large, the practical field experience aids the University’s teaching and research missions.
Soska, who won the Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Award in 2002, has lately been working on a new challenge. Ahead of the opening of several new slot-machine casinos in the Pittsburgh area, he and others from the School of Social Work are evaluating the capacity of the region’s programs for treating gambling addictions.