University Times

The compensation committee of the University’s Board of Trustees met briefly on March 21 by conference call to approve a $350,000 annual salary for P. Jerome Richey, who became Pitt’s general counsel on March 1.

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg expressed satisfaction that “the election of Jerome Richey as general counsel and as an officer of the University was both unanimous and enthusiastic,” calling him “an ideal fit for service … as a member of our leadership team.”

Nordenberg praised Richey’s “distinguished career … crafted since graduating from the University. He is also an active, visible and respected participant in the life of this community.”

He noted that the University used benchmarking data from an outside consultant to arrive at a yearly salary for Richey “that does reflect his stature and experience as a legal professional and the benchmarking that was done for this position.”

Richey oversees 12 lawyers and legal affairs for all five Pitt campuses. He succeeds Jerome Cochran, who has served as general counsel and executive vice chancellor since 2004. Cochran will continue in the latter role.

Before joining Pitt, Richey had been CONSOL Energy’s chief legal officer and executive vice president.