<p>Thanks. That's helpful. It looks like there are no actual faculty, but "instructors" (TAs?) brought in for this purpose. It might still be enough. (some of the schools we've looked at have "faculty" - but only one or two of them.)</p>
<p>binx - </p>
<p>FYI, while this may be the first time since 1985 that Pittsburgh ranks no. 1 in the Rand McNally "Most Liveable Cities" list, it has been in the top 20 on that list every year for the last 25 years and has never ranked lower than no.14 in that time. Last year it was no. 9, I think, and was even mentioned in my newspaper here in the boonies as one of the most liveable cities in the US. In fact, when D first started thinking about going to Pitt, the first thought I had was "that's one of those most liveable cities" cause I'd not only read about it frequently, we have friends with kids at CMU and Point Park, and both the kids and their parents love Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>Also, Pittsburgh is the ONLY city to be in the top 20 every year of the last 25 years. Maybe you "fled" too soon.</p>
<p>Other cities in the top ten of "most liveable cities" this year were San Francisco, Portland, Boston and Philadelphia.</p>
<p>Well, it's seems the Rand McNally survey is not done every year, but Pittsburgh has made the top 20 every year the survey has been done. The lowest it's ranked is no. 14 in 1997; it was no. 12 in 1999. The complete list of the top 10 cities is:</p>
<p>Pittsburgh
San Francisco
Seattle
Portland
Philadelphia
Rochester, NY
Washington, DC
San Jose
Boston
Madison, Wi.</p>
<p>The article cited above says Pittsburgh has "low stress, normalcy, affordability, a four season climate, modest crime, and big city amenities."</p>
<p>mini - On the Pitt website it looks like Arabic is taught in the Less Commonly Taught Lanquages Center (LCTL) in the Dept. of Linquistics. There are 4 Arabic Instructors, separate from the 2 TA's assigned to the Center; the other lanquages taught here, like Hindi, only have one Instructor each, so Arabic has by far the most in that regard.</p>
<p>I don't know how it is at Pitt, but the state u near us has instructors who are sometimes full time employees, just not deemed "faculty" cause they are missing academic credentials to earn that designation. Pitt says their instructors are pretty much all native speakers, so it may be that they have gotten "civilians" as it were to teach these lanquages to fill a need, but the instructors don't have teaching degrees, just a thorough knowledge of the subject matter due to nationality or whatever.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>(our state u used to have math instructors to teach freshmen so as to reduce class size. recently they've gotten rid of the instructors so that all math classes are taught by profs, which helps their USNW rank somehow, but the result is that algebra classes now have 500 kids in them instead of 50. personally, i think the kids were better off with the instructors and a smaller class.)</p>
<p>I'm snickering at Rochester being on that list. Yeah, it's a great place to live -- as long as you don't need to work!</p>
<p>My H and I are Pitt grads, our oldest two kids were born in Pittsburgh, and we still have family there, so we return a couple times a year. There are many things I love about Pittsburgh. But overall, it's a great place to visit, but I'm glad I don't live there anymore.</p>
<p>Top city lists are a lot like top college lists. Depends on what questions are asked. It's really all about fit. ;)</p>
<p>
[quote]
My H and I are Pitt grads, our oldest two kids were born in Pittsburgh, and we still have family there, so we return a couple times a year. There are many things I love about Pittsburgh. But overall, it's a great place to visit, but I'm glad I don't live there anymore.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Wow . . . I could've written that! My W and I did grad work at Pitt and CMU, had our D in Pittsburgh, and still have family there. The city is not for me, either, but I will say that the quality of the undergraduate schools has been transformed in the 20 yrs. since I was there. I've kept in touch with some faculty and they really note the difference, both in the quality of the students and in the importance of undergraduate teaching.</p>
<p>It really is a great school and a great city. As long as you enjoy an urban atmosphere, there isn't anything to not like about Pitt.</p>
<p>When I drove my son to start classes at Pitt, I was quaking in my midwestern/W. coast boots at the intimidating nature of that big Eastern urban environment. I felt I was abandoning him to a gritty jungle. Part of that campus is very big city in nature. His freshman dorm had the helicopters of the children's hospital taking of and landing just a short distance from his window. There was major construction across the street. </p>
<p>But when I was out there for a farewell visit this spring break, with blooming trees surrounding the union and Cathedral of Learning, having just driven thru Schenley park, the campus seemed the perfect blend of greenspace and urban environment. Different ends of campus. He just graduated (poly sci) and I've developed quite a fondness for the city and campus area. </p>
<p>He wanted a big city enviroment, and as far as I could tell, he was so busy with school and university related activities that he could have been anywhere. Though there is much to appreciate about Pittsburgh, the walkways along the rivers, the historic districts, the architecture, the wonderful park near campus. Students get free city transport with their ID cards, including the long bus ride to the airport. The Carnagie museum is one of my favorite anywhere, and I never got to Andy Warhole or Falling Water. </p>
<p>Academically, he did quite well, and I am happiest that he came out with far more intellectual curiosity and a better attitude about learning than he entered with. Study abroad was great. He went on 2 very different semesters, sophomore and junior year to different corners of the world, and it was (almost)cheaper than our out of state tuition. My daughers are going to LAC, and their choices will be far more limited in scope. And expensive. Pitt gave us some grant money, which made his out of state tuition possible. </p>
<p>He lived off campus this last year, in Squirrel Hill, an interesting mixed neighborhood of Hassids and college students. Rents around campus are more affordable than in my midwestern college town, and restaurant prices reasonable. </p>
<p>Echoing above, a great place for those who like and want a city for their education.</p>
<p>Pittsburgh was rated as having the second worst air pollution in the U.S.
I'm going to tell my daughter not to inhale for four years.</p>
<p>Ranknigs like those are so subjective. Here' some good rankings:</p>
<h1>1- "Places Rated Almanac," best place to live</h1>
<h1>10- Forbes' World's Cleanest Cities</h1>
<h1>28/331- "Cities Ranked and Rated"</h1>
<p><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4625179/%5B/url%5D">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4625179/</a></p>
<h1>1- PNC Park, best ballpark</h1>
<h1>2- USA Today 10 Most Beautiful Places in America</h1>
<h1>17- Cleanest city in the world by William M. Mercer, a San Francisco-based consulting firm</h1>
<h1>18- Expo Magazine’s Bargain Destinations for travel and tourism</h1>
<h1>6- Travel Channel ranked the Carnegie Museum of Natural History as among the "Best Museums for Dinosaur Sightings."</h1>
<h1>2- Kennywood Amusement Park voted the second best amusement park in the country by readers of Theme Parks Magazine.</h1>
<h1>3- Pittsburgh has been ranked the third-best mid-sized city for art lovers, according to readers of AmericanStyle Magazine</h1>
<h1>1- Pittsburgh’s Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland has "America’s Best French Fries" and "America’s Best Hot Dogs" according to AOL City Guide</h1>
<h1>1- Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood received the Urban Pioneer Award, one of three national awards, by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.</h1>
<h1>9- one of the smartest places to live in America by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine</h1>
<h1>1- Pittsburgh International Airport recognized for having one of the best airports in the country and scored top honors in three out of five airport categories.</h1>
<h1>5- Child magazine ranks Carnegie Museum of Art number five in the nation as best art museums for kids</h1>
<h1>1- Pittsburgh ranked highest in the nation in The Economist Intelligence Unit's livability survey</h1>
<h1>19- Most-Educated Cities in the United States</h1>
<h1>9- Pittsburgh ranks as the ninth-safest major metropolitan area in which to conduct business and avoid major natural disasters and terrorism. A survey by Risk + Insurance magazine and AIR Worldwide Corp. (a Boston-based consulting firm) ranked the safety of major U.S. metropolitan areas based on their susceptibility to major business disruptions such as weather disturbances, earthquakes and terrorism.</h1>
<h1>14- Pittsburgh’s University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is ranked one of the top medical facilities in the nation. U.S. News & World Report’s edition of America’s Best Hospitals ranks UPMC 14th out of 176 hospitals.</h1>
<h1>1- The Pittsburgh Steelers training camp in St. Vincent’s College, Latrobe has been ranked the number one NFL training camp in the nation by Sports Illustrated magazine’s Peter King</h1>
<h1>1- Pittsburgh has been included in Delicious Living magazine’s 2005 Impressive Cities list</h1>
<p>Top 25- CNN Money America's Smartest Cities
<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/29/real_estate/brainiest_cities/index.htm%5B/url%5D">http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/29/real_estate/brainiest_cities/index.htm</a></p>
<h1>5- Reader's Digest Best Places to Raise a Family</h1>
<h1>2- Best Cities for Families. Cities Ranked and Rated rates Pittsburgh #28 overall, one of the best for families</h1>
<p><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4625179/%5B/url%5D">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4625179/</a></p>
<h1>4- Sperling's Best Cities for Seniors.</h1>
<h1>2- Collegia, Inc. ranks Pittsburgh #2 among college cities of its size, #4 overall</h1>
<h1>10- Mercer Human Resource Consulting Best Quality of Life of American Cities</h1>
<p><a href="http://www.finfacts.ie/qualityoflife.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.finfacts.ie/qualityoflife.htm</a></p>
<h1>1- Esquire Magazine's Cities That Rock</h1>
<p>Pittsburgh Awards
<a href="http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=141%5B/url%5D">http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=141</a></p>
<p>... I could go on if you would like.</p>
<p>The point I am actually trying to make is that rankings (of anything) are stupid, especially for entire cities. It is impossible to compare any city with any other city.</p>
<p>Who knew? :)</p>
<p>(Mathson is off to CMU next fall, I'm looking forward to seeing a bit of Pittsburgh.)</p>
<p>And this just in-</p>
<h1>1- American Style magazine best arts scene among mid-sized cities</h1>
<p>Congratulations, mathmom. CMU is a world-class university. And contrary to the belief of some, your son will have no problem breathing. I have had asthma all of my life, but the period of my life where it affected me the least was when I was at Pitt. Rankings like those just enforce 25-year-old outdated views of the city. As a fellow New Yorker, I can promise you that you will love Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that the air in Pittsburgh could be worse than LA summers. I like what I've seen so far of Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>Pittsburgh ranked #3 as "City of the Future" by the Financial Times group in London.
<a href="http://www.popcitymedia.com/timnews/5807futurecity.aspx%5B/url%5D">http://www.popcitymedia.com/timnews/5807futurecity.aspx</a></p>
<p>I really could go all day. But these rankings prove nothing, it is about finding the place that best fits you. Even if a city is named "The #1 Best City in the History of the World" by every publication, if you aren't happy there you're not goin to succeed.</p>
<p>But I also think it's about being adaptable. I loved Pasadena. I loved living in the suburbs of Munich. I loved living in NYC. I even like being in the suburbs of NYC.</p>
<p>Mathmom, L.A. was ranked No. 1 for bad air! So you're right.</p>
<p>Pat, are you a public relations person for Pittsburgh?</p>
<p>In the old days, air quality in Pittsburgh was unbelievably bad, in common with, or perhaps worse than many heavily industrialized areas of the time. I saw historic photos when visiting, of downtown Pittsburgh with black skies and streetlights lit mid day. The caption said this was the norm in the steel mill days. As downtown Pittsburgh sits at the confluence of the rivers, it would be the lowest point. The universities are a little higher situated. </p>
<p>I got the impression that Pittsburgh is still in the process of reinventing itself. On the way up, but still dealing with a dearth of jobs and reasons for students to stick around post college. The big industries are medicine and education.</p>