Mark A. Nordenberg (born July 12, 1948) is the chancellor emeritus of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

and chair of the university's Institute of Politics. A professor of law and university administrator, Nordenberg served as the seventeenth

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

from 1996 to 2014. Nordenberg served as the Dean of the

University of Pittsburgh School of Law The University of Pittsburgh School of Law (Pitt Law) was founded in 1895. It became a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1900. Its primary home facility is the Barco Law Building. The school offers four degrees: Master ...

between 1985 and 1993 and other various administrative positions before becoming interim

of the University of Pittsburgh in 1995, a position which became permanent the following year. He became known as ''Nordy'' to many Pitt students, who voted to name a recreation center and arcade in the

William Pitt Union The William Pitt Union, built in 1898 as the Hotel Schenley, is the student union building of the University of Pittsburgh main campus, and is a Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark. Designed by Pittsburg ...

as ''Nordy's Place'', and is also the namesake of the university's endowed Nordenberg Scholarships and the Nordenberg Hall dormitory on the university's campus.

Early life

Nordenberg was born in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. Nordenberg's family moved to suburban

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylv ...

when his father was relocated with

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

. He graduated with honors from North Allegheny High School. He was then educated at

Thiel College Thiel College (, ) is a private college in Greenville, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is one of the smallest colleges or universities in the region with about 100 full-time and part time facult ...

(BA 1970) and the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

(JD 1973).

At Pitt

In 1977, Nordenberg joined the faculty of the

as a visiting professor. He served as Dean of the School of Law from 1985 until 1993 and as Interim Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs from 1993 to 1994. The Pitt Board of Trustees elected him Interim Chancellor in 1995 and a year later, after completing a national search, Chancellor. On June 28, 2013, Nordenberg announced his retirement, to be effective August 2014, but with the intent to stay in Pittsburgh and continue to work at the University of Pittsburgh:

Institutional accomplishments

Nordenberg is credited with initiatives that have improved the university's academic, research and athletic standing, and contributed to the renovation and expansion of the university's physical plant. Between 1995 and 2013, student enrollment at Pitt grew 21%, from 27,002 to 32,781 with over 137,000 degrees conferred, and the average SAT score of the applicants grew 185 points. This change is reflective in the student's accomplishments, as after 1995, Pitt undergraduate students have received four Rhodes Scholarships, five Truman Scholarships, six Marshall Scholarships, seven Udall Scholarships, and 41 Goldwater Scholarships. At the same period, Pitt faculty members have been recognized multiple times as Fulbright Scholars, Boren Scholars, Whitaker International Fellows, National Science Foundation Fellows, Critical Language Scholars, and Humanity in Action Scholars; they received prestigious awards such as the National Medal of Science, the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, the MacArthur Foundation's "genius award," the Charles S. Mott Prize in cancer research, and the Andrew Mellon Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award for exemplary contributions to humanistic studies During Nordenberg's tenure, Pitt re-established its reputation as a national and world class research university, and its yearly research allocations grew from $230 million in 1995 to $800 million currently. University of Pittsburgh is a member of the Association of American Universities, that consist of the 62 top North American research universities. Pitt is prominent in physical, life and social sciences: along with Johns Hopkins, Washington, Michigan, and Pennsylvania universities it is one of the top five largest recipients of the federal science and engineering research and development support; in comparison, in 1995 Pitt was ranked the 24th in the same list. The federal government also designated the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Russian and East European Studies, and the Global Studies Center as National Resource Centers. Despite the

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of 2008 and continuous cuts to the state contribution to the university's budget, Pitt under Nordeberg maintains an AA/positive long-term ratings from Standard & Poor. Its endowment grew from $463 million in 1995 to $2.99 billion in 2013.

Physical plant renovation

Nordenberg oversaw the renovation of several major Pitt buildings including Alumni Hall and Benedum Hall; the demolition of

Pitt Stadium Pitt Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1925, it served primarily as the home of the univer ...

, the original Pennsylvania Hall, and the Mineral Industries Building; the acquisition and repurposing of the University Club and the Concordia Club; and the construction of Bouquet Gardens, the McGowen Institute Laboratory building, the

Petersen Events Center The Petersen Events Center (more commonly known as "The Pete") is a 12,508-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland neighborhood. The arena is named for philanthropists John Petersen and his wife Ge ...

, Sennott Square, Biomedical Science Tower 3, the Carrillo Street Steam Plant, the new Pennsylvania Hall, Panther Hall, the Public Safety Building, the Life Science Annex, Darragh Street Apartments, the Petersen Sports Complex, and replacement of the

University Place Office Building University Place Office Building was a 6-story building constructed in 1924 and had been a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United S ...

with Nordenberg Hall. He also oversaw the initiation and completion of a $2 billion capital campaign entitled "Building Our Future Together".

Honors

In 1984, Nordenberg received ''Excellence-in-Teaching Award'' and in 1985 ''Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award'' from the University of Pittsburgh. He was named ''Distinguished Service Professor of Law'' in 1994. NodenbergBenchesCoL

In 1997, he was honored as ''Person of the Year in Education'' by Vectors, a community service organization in Pittsburgh. He was named ''Pittsburgher of the Year'' and ''Co-Pittsburgher of the Year'' by ''

Pittsburgh Magazine Pittsburgh Magazine is a lifestyle magazine covering the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. It hosts an annual "40 Under 40" featuring prominent young Pittsburghers. It's known for listicles including Pittsburgh's 25 Best Restaurants, Best of the 'Burg ...

'' in 1999 and 2001, respectively. in June 2005, the university's board of trustees announced the establishment of the endowed Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg University Chair position to honor the Chancellor's 10 years of leadership. In December 2007, by resolution of the Pitt Student Government Board, the recreation room on the ground floor of the

was named ''Nordy's Place'' in honor of the Chancellor whom the board deemed a student favorite and worthy of the honor. In 2009, Nordenberg was honored with the ''2009 Presidential Leadership Award'' by

The Gordie Foundation The Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded in Dallas, Texas as the Gordie Foundation. The name of the non-profit changed in 2010 when the Gordie Foundation merged with the University o ...

and ''Outside the Classroom Award'' for his role in overseeing Pitt's mission to combat binge drinking. He also serves on the board of directors of UPMC and

The Bank of New York Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Finan ...

. On October 26, 2012, the Pitt Board of Trustees announced a $10 million scholarship fund and the naming of a new campus residence hall, Nordenberg Hall, in honor Nordenberg, citing his role in transforming Pitt in 17 years leading the school. On February 6, 2014, Nordenberg was presented with the Louis and Barbara Thiel Distinguished Service Award by his alma mater,

as part of their annual Founders' Day Convocation ceremonies. On February 6, 2014, Nordenberg was awarded the Dapper Dan Dr. Freddie Fu Leadership Award in athletics. On April 8, 2014, Nordenberg, along with former

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technolog ...

president

Jared Cohon Jared Leigh Cohon (born October 7, 1947) served as the eighth president of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. he is a University Professor in the Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering. He holds a BS in Civ ...

, were named recipients of the Elsie Hilliard HIllman Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Public Service. On May 9, 2014, Nordenberg and Cohon were awarded the Chairman's award by the Carnegie Science Center of Pittsburgh for leadership in science, technology, and education. On May 12, 2014, the university's Staff Association Council and the University Senate announced it was honoring Nordenberg and his wife Nikki with a pair of commemorative benches that were placed outside the windows of the Chancellor's office in the

Cathedral of Learning The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story skyscraper that serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Standing at , the 42-story Late Gothic Revival Cath ...

Post-chancellorship

Nordenberg led a search for his successor in 2014, and the university announced on February 8, 2014, that Patrick D. Gallagher would take over for Nordenberg in August 2014. At the close of his service as chancellor, Nordenberg was appointed as the chair the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics and was named chancellor emeritus.

Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission Chair

On 3 May 2021, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania named Nordenberg Chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission, tasked with redrawing PA legislative districts following the 2020 Census.

Family

Nordenberg married Nikki Pirillo in 1970, and they have three adult children and three grandchildren.Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg: Profile
University of Pittsburgh, accessed 2009-02-11.

References

External links

University of Pittsburgh Chancellor's Office
official page , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nordenberg, Mark Living people People from Duluth, Minnesota Chancellors of the University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh faculty University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Thiel College alumni 1948 births