Mark A. Nordenberg (born July 12, 1948) is the chancellor emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh and chair of the university's Institute of Politics. A professor of law and university administrator, Nordenberg served as the seventeenth Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh from 1996 to 2014. Nordenberg served as the Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law between 1985 and 1993 and other various administrative positions before becoming interim Chancellor 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 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. Nordenberg's family moved to suburban Pittsburgh when his father was relocated with U.S. Steel. He graduated with honors from North Allegheny High School. He was then educated at Thiel College (BA 1970) and the University of Wisconsin Law School (JD 1973).
At Pitt
In 1977, Nordenberg joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law 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 Great Recession 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.
