Thiel College alumnus Mark Nordenberg to speak at inaugural Miller Lecture series

Posted March 28, 2023 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Former Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh and Thiel College alumnus Mark A. Nordenberg ’70 H’97 will deliver the inaugural Professor David M. Miller ’61 H’20 Distinguished Lecture at 7 p.m. April 12 in the College’s Lutheran Heritage Room.

Nordenberg is a luminary in higher education and a driving force behind the transformation of the University of Pittsburgh to a world-renowned research institution and the reinvention of the City of Pittsburgh. His lecture titled, “Lasting Values for Leading and for Living,” will be a reflection on the sense of meaning and purpose that he has brought to his career and service to the community. The event is free and open to the public. Nordenberg led the University of Pittsburgh for 20 years from 1995 to 2014 and previously served as the Dean of the Law School at Pittsburgh. A respected leader, Nordenberg has advanced numerous social and economic initiatives in Pittsburgh and across the Commonwealth. In 2021, he was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to chair a panel that was responsible for redrawing the boundaries of the state's legislative districts.

“Mark Nordenberg is one of the great leaders in western Pennsylvania,” Thiel College President Susan Traverso, Ph.D. said. “I look forward to learning more about his experiences as a leader and the values that he sees as being integral to his work and life. Mark’s accomplishments are not just in higher education. His civic and philanthropic activities are widely known, and his work on the panel that redistricted voting districts in Pennsylvania is recognized as an important contribution to the democratic process in Pennsylvania. Thiel College has been launching leaders throughout its history, and Mark is among the College’s most distinguished graduates. We are honored that he has agreed to share his time with the College and our community.”

The Professor David M. Miller ’61 H’20 Distinguished Lecture Series was endowed through a generous gift from Dr. Jagdish N. Sheth and Mrs. Madhu Sheth. The series honors Miller, who retired in 2020 following a 57-year teaching career that is the longest in the College’s history. Miller passed away in 2022. Before retiring, he taught and advised more students than anyone else in Thiel College’s history.

Nordenberg earned his B.A. from Thiel College in 1970 and later received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1973. His first foray into higher education came in 1977 as a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. In the years that followed, he served in many roles at the University, before becoming the seventeenth Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh. He joined the Thiel College Board of Trustees in 1987 and served for 10 years. He was bestowed an honorary degree in 1997. He was conferred as trustee emeritus in 2019.