Mark Nordenberg

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. ==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 as Chancellor 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. and its yearly research allocations grew from $230 million in 1995 to $800 million in 2013. ==Honors==

In 1984, Nordenberg received the first Excellence-in-Teaching Award from Pitt's School of Law and, in 1985, the ''Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Pittsburgh. He was named Distinguished Service Professor of Law'' in 1994. 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 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 William Pitt Union 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 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. 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, Thiel College 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 president Jared Cohon, 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. In 2016, he was awarded both the Distinguished Leadership Award from the American Red Cross and the Mary Schenley Medal for Parks and Stewardship from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. In 2018, Nordenberg was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni for Excellence and Leadership in Education by North Allegheny School District. In 2019, he was named a Trustee Emeritus by Thiel College's Board of Trustees. In 2021, Nordenberg was awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Governance by the National Association of Corporate Directors, Three Rivers Chapter. In 2025, Nordenberg was elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which was founded in 1780 to honor excellence and convene leaders from every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas and address issues of importance to the nation and the world. Also, in 2025, he was awarded the inaugural Jim Roddey Leadership Award. He has been awarded honorary degrees by Carnegie Mellon University, the Community College of Allegheny County, Duquesne University, La Roche College, Thiel College and the University of Pittsburgh. ==Post-chancellorship==

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 of the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, a position from which he will retire on June 30, 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. The Commission produced a plan that was responsive to significant population and demographic shifts and was adopted by a bipartisan Commission vote, unanimously upheld by the state Supreme Court, and widely praised by good government groups. == Anti-Hate ==

Nordenberg served on the special independent committee created by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to fairly disburse undesignated donations made to its "victims of terror fund" following the deadly attack at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue. He and CMU President Emeritus Cohon worked together to lay the foundation for the creation of the Collaboratory Against Hate, a joint research initiative of CMU and Pitt. He is the founding co-chair, with Laura Ellsworth, of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, now widely recognized as the most comprehensive anti-hate initiative in the world. For this work, the two of them have been awarded the Pursuers of Peace Award by the Rodef Shalom congregation and the Righteous Among the Neighbors Award by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and the LIGHT Education Initiative. ==Family==

Nordenberg married Nikki Pirillo in 1970, and they have three adult children and four grandchildren. ==References==