Mark A. Nordenberg

Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg will be the new British Honorary Consul in Pittsburgh, British Consul General Sir Philip Thomas has announced.

The appointment was made at a news conference Oct. 26 in Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy’s office.

“We are honored that one of Pittsburgh’s most distinguished and respected civic leaders has agreed to serve as our representative,” said Sir Philip in a statement released by the British Consulate General.

“I felt privileged to be asked to serve in this role, and it seemed a natural fit for our University,” said Nordenberg. “Pitt has a vital stake in the future of this region and is actively involved in a wide range of economic development initiatives. We also are a world leader in terms of our international outreach. Among other things, our University Center for International Studies is the home to both a West European Studies Center that has been designated a national resource center by the U.S. Department of Education and a European Union Center that is supported by the European Parliament. And, in these and other academic initiatives, we always have had a special interest in Great Britain.”

As the British Honorary Consul, Nordenberg will continue to help create opportunities for British companies who do business in Pittsburgh through the United Kingdom-Pittsburgh initiative.

“Chancellor Nordenberg’s willingness to assume such a post in spite of his very heavy schedule symbolizes his sustained commitment to international studies at the University,” said Alberta Sbragia, professor of political science and director of Pitt’s European Union Center and the Center for West European Studies. “That commitment will serve the European Union Center very well, indeed, as it competes for future funding. It will increase our visibility in the civic and business community as well as send a strong message to scholars that the University of Pittsburgh’s top leadership is personally invested in international affairs.”

The chancellor’s academic background lends another dimension to the initiative, which includes a two-way business relationship between Pittsburgh, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, and South Sheffield that has fostered strong links benefiting communities in both Pittsburgh and the United Kingdom.

In partnership with the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, the Allegheny Conference, and the Pittsburgh branch of the British-American Business Council, the initiative has recently seen U.K. high-tech companies Merlin 360, Group 300, and Lamination Technology establish a presence. This continuing foreign direct investment by British companies cements the U.K.’s position as one of the leading foreign investors in the Pittsburgh region.

The initiative also is behind the British Pediatrics Fellowships, a medical exchange program linking the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and leading U.K. children’s hospitals in collaborative head trauma research. It also includes close collaboration between the British Consulate General in New York and a number of institutes at Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University.

The chancellor’s appointment builds on a well-established relationship between the University and Britain. Last year, in recognition of the University’s unparalleled record of achievement in the Marshall Scholarship Competition and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Scholarship Program, His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, designated the University as a Marshall Center of Excellence.