About Soudi

Dr. Soudi, Dean’s Fellow for Experiential Learning, Humanities Professor, Electus Faculty, Founder of a Pitt Start-up, Lead Developer of The Cultural Engagement Playbook®, and proud Pitt Alum, has long championed outreach and community engagement as essential to integrating knowledge with experience and innovation. Drawing on his network of partnerships beyond the University, he is dedicated to making experiential learning (ExL) a cornerstone of the academic experience. His leadership role encompasses strategic vision-setting, alignment with the Plan for Pitt, and establishing school-wide structures for ExL. A key aspect of his work is fostering connections with industry, community organizations, and alumni, creating a rich ecosystem where students reflect on and apply their learning meaningfully. Soudi also leads efforts to support faculty and students in the 42 academic departments and programs in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences with the training, and resources they need to thrive in ExL projects. His vision includes establishing a Community of Practice uniting faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community and industry partners.

Soudi’s research on the human-computer interface in doctors’ consultations has commercial applications in Electronic Health Records, and he collaborates actively with Pitt Medical School and UPMC. He won the inaugural 2017 Diversity in the Curriculum Award for his success in creating a diverse and inclusive learning environment for his students and a Pitt Seed award for a proposal to build an engagement platform connecting linguistics to the community and tech industry. He co-directs a Master’s-level cultural and linguistic competency course through the Institute for Clinical Research and Education, and he directs the Linguistic Internship Program he founded in 2013.

Soudi has spearheaded seven interdisciplinary conferences, including the Humanities in Health and the Humanities @ Work Conferences, raising over $250,000 to support these cross-disciplinary events. He is an expert in conversation analysis, sociolinguistics, and Arabic sociolinguistics, with publications spanning journals, special collection, book chapters and an edited volume. In 2020, he co-edited Diversity Across the Disciplines, examining diversity through people, processes, and policies, and led a Pitt collection on Humanities in Health. Dr. Soudi is a dedicated educator and thoughtful leader, advancing both theoretical and applied learning that bridges university education with community needs and professional industries.