It’s amazing how much impact one person can have on the world. After earning his MBA and becoming the first Black student to earn a PhD at Pitt Business, William Tiga Tita (PhD ’77, MBA ’70) improved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands. His work was celebrated during the Pitt Business Black History Month Celebration on February 13, 2024. He shared his experiences as a student activist, project development leader, and diplomat during his presentation. 

The World Changed in 1968 

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 caused tensions to flare, and riots broke out across the country. At Pitt, the Black Action Society took part in what became known as the “Computer Center Takeover” a few months after King’s death. 

According to Pitt Magazine, then Chancellor Wesley Posvar did not want violence to come to campus. As a result, the University agreed to the students’ demands for a University Black Studies Department, the recruitment of more Black faculty and students, and other progressive changes. The business school accepted six Black students, including Tita, into the MBA program in 1969.

Until that year, Pitt’s Graduate School of Business was an all-White environment. While at Pitt, Tita did more than just further his education; he used his MBA knowledge for community economic development efforts, improving lives for Black business owners in Pittsburgh. 

Building Collaborations Between the Community and Pitt 

One of the first initiatives Tita started as a master’s student was the Student Consulting Project, which brought business students and faculty into the predominantly Black communities of the Hill District, East Liberty, and Homewood, tutoring in accounting, taxation, and networking.

Tita says, “I saw the segregated world in which small Black businessmen had to operate. It was important to teach certain technical skills, but I wanted to change the environment too. I wanted Black businessmen to form better relationships with banks, major corporations, and the University. I knew such collaborations could provide financial
and professional resources.”

In addition to improving the business skills of Black entrepreneurs, his efforts helped launch a citywide credit union for Black business owners, the organization of a University “Buy Black” campaign, a series of seminars that educated the larger community on the challenges facing Black businesses, and a university–community partnership. While he knew it was important to educate business owners, he also realized this was an important way to foster relationships.

Tita learned the importance of communitarianism from his grandfather and understood how developing trust can help address shared issues.

InterCultural House and Beyond 

Tita and his wife, Bernice, lived at the InterCultural House, where he was the first resident director. Created in 1969, this house enabled 20 students — 10 Black, 10 White — to live together cooperatively to learn and appreciate each other’s attitudes and values.

Now retired from his faculty position at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University, Tita used his education to serve as a change agent, most notably as a program manager and chief technical advisor in the United Nations Development Program.

In his presentation, Tita inspired everyone by saying, “We all have to shape a future consistent with what we believe is right.”