UNIVERSITY UPDATES
Here is a sampling of recent letters to the University community and other statements and opinion pieces penned by Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.
January 9, 2013
Even though New Year’s Eve celebrations signaled the official arrival of 2013 and most offices of the University re-opened last week, this is the week that has brought the practical beginning of both a new calendar year and a new academic term to Pitt. I hope that each of you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. I also hope that the year ahead is one in which we are able to share the many special satisfactions that come from being part of a university community without some of the disruptions that characterized the first half of the past year.
November 14, 2012
Chancellor's Statement on The Governor's Advisory Commission on
Postsecondary Education Report
September 10, 2012
As we moved through the past year, regularly contending with the stresses and strains that came from confronting its many challenges, it sometimes seemed that, for Pitt, 2011-2012 might become the year that never would end, and certain realities fueled that feeling. An unusual number of key issues remained unresolved, even as we moved through ceremonies traditionally marking the completion of the academic year and formally "closed the books" at the June 30 end of the fiscal year. Let me briefly discuss three different examples.
August 15, 2012
Everyone in the University of Pittsburgh community is deeply grateful for the many forms of help that were extended to us while our campus was under siege and for all of the hard work that was done to get us to this point.
July 13, 2012
The academic year that brought Pitt to the 225th anniversary of its founding was a time of both trials and triumphs.
April 6, 2012
Normally, this is a very special time of year. Winter weather has passed, flowers are in bloom, the end of the academic year is in sight, and people’s spirits are high. But this has been anything but a normal spring at Pitt.
April 3, 2012
Very early this morning, the University received a bomb threat targeting the Litchfield Towers, and by mid-morning, another bomb threat targeting the Chevron Science Center was made. These were the third and fourth bomb threats targeting Pitt buildings to be received in less than 24 hours and the 10th and 11th to be received in recent weeks.
March 10, 2012
Our Oakland neighborhood is a very special place, largely defined by its unusually high levels of productive human activity. It is, without question, the educational and medical capital of Western Pennsylvania and at least contends for the crown of cultural capital as well. This past Thursday afternoon, though, all of that accumulated good was overshadowed by the violent acts of a single person – a gunman who invaded Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and began shooting innocent people.
February 29, 2012
In terms of proportionality, perhaps nothing is more telling than the proposed general fund budget’s bottom line. Overall state funding would be reduced by less than one-tenth of 1 percent or $22.456 million. The cuts proposed just for Pitt are more than double that amount.
February 22, 2012
Because of the hard work done by so many, the University of Pittsburgh is moving through what should be another banner year, building on its enviable record of impact and accomplishment in education, research, and public service. Pitt also is moving through an historically important year, with next week bringing the 225th anniversary of our founding, as a log-cabin academy situated at the edge of the frontier. Unfortunately, what almost certainly will prove to be most memorable about 2012 is that an already brutal budget year has been made far worse by another proposal for deep and disproportionate cuts.
February 7, 2012
Because of the wonderful work done by so many of you, the University of Pittsburgh is moving through what should be another banner year, building on its enviable record of impact and accomplishment in education, research and public service… . Unfortunately, what almost certainly will prove to be most memorable about 2012 is that an already brutal budget year has been made far worse by today’s proposal for deep and disproportionate cuts emerging from the state capitol.
January 6, 2012
Delivering uncompromised levels of quality is central to our aspirations but will become even more challenging if the effects of a troubled economy linger much longer and if public support for public higher education continues to decline. We can take some comfort from the successes crafted by our predecessors as they met their own challenges—which included wars, floods, fires, and the Great Depression. We probably can take even greater comfort from our own more recent successes.
July 8, 2011
The year just closed was another in an unbroken succession of years characterized by high performance and remarkable progress at Pitt. It was a year that saw inspiring examples of individual accomplishment emerge from within each of the University's constituent groups. It also was a year in which key measures of institutional progress continued their dramatic climb.
July 1, 2011
After delivering his budget address on March 8, the Governor described his proposal as the first step in the state's budget-building process. As anticipated, that process extended over the course of several weeks and included active participation by large numbers of advocates for our University and for public higher education—including alumni, faculty, staff, students, and trustees—as well as our governmental relations professionals and almost every other member of our administrative team.
March 8, 2011
Just last week, the University of Pittsburgh celebrated the 224th anniversary of its founding. Today, March 8, 2011, is another date that may long be remembered in the history of higher education in Pennsylvania. However, it will be remembered in a far less positive way, because earlier today our Governor released a proposed budget that contains stunningly deep cuts to the support that has long been provided to public higher education.
February 25, 2011
For 224 years, Pitt has been a powerful force in building brighter futures. As we move further into a new century characterized by a rapidly changing and highly competitive world and faced with the need to nurture a vibrant society and to rebuild a strong and sustainable economy, Pennsylvania cannot afford to let that light go dim.
January 19, 2011
The 20th century columnist and author Bill Vaughan once wrote this about New Year's Eve: "An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." Particularly given some of the problems that have plagued us in the recent past, it is easy to relate both to the wish that we might leave at least some of our troubles behind us and to hope that the start of the new calendar year might bring the opportunity for more positive beginnings, at least on certain fronts."
October 11, 2010
Recent weeks have brought news coverage of two deeply troubling events. Though separated by thousands of miles and decades of time, both provide important reminders of the standards, values and human touch that must guide our work and characterize our community.
September 22, 2010
As everyone who lived through it knows, last year was both a time of trouble and a time of triumph here at Pitt. Right from the start, we faced a succession of daunting challenges. Not only did we effectively deal with each obstacle that the year presented, but we continued to build momentum as we pushed forward with our important work.
July 26, 2010
The early days of the new fiscal year brought some welcome news on the “budget front.” Most obviously, our Commonwealth appropriation was approved more than five months earlier than had been the case in the last year. That, of course, eliminated at least one dimension of the uncertainty that had been a significant complication through much of that year.