Bill Strickland

American community leader, author and CEO (born 1947)

Bill Strickland
Strickland in 2008
Born	(1947-08-25) August 25, 1947 (age 76)^[1] Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Pittsburgh
Occupation(s)	Community leader and author
Organization	Manchester Bidwell Corporation

William E. Strickland (born August 25, 1947, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American community leader, author, and the former President and CEO of the non-profit Manchester Bidwell Corporation based in Pittsburgh. The company's subsidiaries, the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and Bidwell Training Center, work with disadvantaged and at-risk youth through involvement with the arts and provides job training for adults, respectively. Strickland is a winner of a MacArthur "Genius" Award and the 2011 Goi Peace Award.

Life

Strickland grew up in the Manchester neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Oliver High School.^[2] He then attended the University of Pittsburgh, where as an undergraduate he founded the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild as an after-school program to teach children pottery skill in his old neighborhood.^[3] He graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in American history and foreign relations in 1970.^[4] Following graduation he continued to build the Manchester Guild into an innovative nonprofit agency that uses the arts to inspire and mentor inner-city teenagers.^[5] In 1972 he took over the Bidwell Training Center that trains displaced adults for jobs.^[6]

He has served on the boards of the National Endowment for the Arts, Mellon Financial Corporation, and the University of Pittsburgh.^[7] For his work, Strickland has won various awards including a MacArthur Fellowship "genius" award in 1996.^[8] He has been honored by the White House,^[3] and received the Goi Peace Award in 2011.^[4]

In June 2018, Strickland announced that he would be stepping down from his role as president and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corp., but that he would remain on as executive chairman.^[9] He had served as the leader of the organization for 50 years.^[9]

Awards

1996: MacArthur Fellows Program^[10]
2000: Strong Men and Women^[11]
2007: Pittsburgher of the Year^[12]
2011: Goi Peace Award^[4]

References

^ "About Bill Strickland". Make The Impossible Possible. Manchester Craftsmen's Guild. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
^ Brant, John (2005-09-01). "What One Man Can Do". Inc. Harlan, IA: Mansueto Ventures LLC. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
^ ^a ^b Terry, Sara (1998-08-31). "Genius at Work". Fast Company. New York, NY: Mansueto Ventures LLC. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
^ ^a ^b ^c Blake, Sharon S. (2012-01-23). "William E. Strickland Jr., Pitt Alumnus and Trustee, Is Recipient Of the 2011 Goi Peace Award". Pitt Chronicle. Vol. 13, no. 2. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
^ Boss, Suzie (2009-01-28). "Passing Empowerment Down Through the Arts". Edutopia. The George Lucas Education Foundation. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
^ Ehrbar, Tommy (March 1997). "The Genius of Manchester". Pitt Magazine. University of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
^ Abels, Caroline (2002-06-02). "Top 50 cultural Forces in Pittsburgh with a twist: No. 1 Bill Strickland". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
^ Nishi, Dennis (2009-09-08). "Social Innovation as an Art Form". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
^ ^a ^b "Manchester Bidwell leader steps down after 50 years". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
^ "William E. Strickland Jr. - MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
^ "William E. Strickland Jr.: 2000 Honoree". Dominion.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
^ Curran, Ann (January 2008). "Pittsburgher of the Year". Pittsburgh Magazine. Pittsburgh, PA: Wiesner Media. Retrieved 2012-01-25.

Further information

Strickland, Bill (with Vince Rause) (2007). Make the Impossible Possible: One Man's Crusade to Inspire Others to Dream Bigger and Achieve the Extraordinary. New York: Currency Books of Random House. ISBN 978-0-385-52054-6.
Martha I. Finney, In the Face of Uncertainty: 25 Top Leaders Speak Out on Challenge, Change, and the Future of American Business^{[permanent dead link]}, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2002, ISBN 978-0-8144-7161-6