Documenting Pitt:
Alumni Publications
In 1926, with plans in place to construct the Cathedral of Learning, Chancellor Bowman and faculty understood that the University of Pittsburgh was about to take a giant step forward in its evolution as a university. The University of Pittsburgh Record was the method they chose to tell the story of the University, to document the construction of the "tall building," and to keep in touch with students, alumni and supporters. The magazine became the Pittsburgh Record because it was believed that "life at the University of Pittsburgh is inseparable from life in the city" and to that end people from outside the University community were invited to write on topics that concerned Pittsburgh, the University and the region.
From 1925 to 1930, the General Alumni Association suspended their dues requirement in favor of alumni funds flowing to the construction of the Cathedral. In 1930 the Association resumed collecting dues and began publishing the University of Pittsburgh Alumni Bulletin. This later became the Alumni Review which published alternating issues with the Pittsburgh Record. The Record ceased publication in 1946 and the Alumni Review was renamed the Alumni News Review.
The first Pitt magazine began publishing in 1939 and was focused on the University, much like the original University of Pittsburgh Record. It remained so until 1959 when the Alumni News Review merged into Pitt and was published "for alumni and friends of the University of Pittsburgh." Once again the Alumni Association put out a publication, "for alumni, parents and friends of the University". It began in 1969 and was called the Alumni Times. It published quarterly alternating issues with Pitt. Both ceased publication in 1985 and were replaced by Pitt Magazine in 1986.
This site contains the Alumni and University publications described above from 1926 to 1985.
