Public safety building named in honor of Cochran
The University’s public safety building has been renamed the Jerome Cochran Public Safety Building in honor of the executive vice chancellor, who will retire Dec. 31. The building, at 3412 Forbes Ave., opened in 2007. It houses the Pitt Police Department and the Department of Environmental Health and Safety.
Pitt’s public safety building will be named in honor of Executive Vice Chancellor Jerome Cochran, in recognition of his service to the University in a range of positions, including roles as assistant senior vice president for Health Sciences, interim dean of the School of Pharmacy, director of planned giving, interim vice chancellor for business and finance, interim athletic director and general counsel.
The University’s Board of Trustees approved the move at its Oct. 31 meeting.
Commending Cochran for his “breadth of knowledge and the ability to get things done,” board chairperson Stephen R. Tritch said, “Jerry has certainly been one of the energizing forces for progress and change at this institution during his time here.
“Under his leadership,” Tritch said, “The Oakland and the regional campuses have been transformed and improved for students, faculty, staff and our neighbors in those communities.
“Jerry’s commitment to cost savings, which runs true and deep, and his efficient management practices have enabled some of those resources to be reinvested in Pitt’s other missions of academic and research activities, which I think is very important,” Tritch said.
As executive vice chancellor, Cochran has overseen the University’s business units, including the Auxiliaries, Facilities Management, Human Resources and Public Safety and Emergency Management offices.
Under his direction, capital projects totaling nearly $2 billion have been undertaken, adding 3.6 million gross square feet of new space.
Stated Tritch: “Jerome Cochran has earned the admiration, affection and respect of members of the Board of Trustees, the administration, alumni and the entire University community for his dedication, loyalty and devoted service. The naming of the Jerome Cochran Public Safety Building is presented as a symbol of gratitude and the high regard in which he is held by his many friends and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh.”
Cochran holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and administration of justice from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He began his career in 1972 at Presbyterian University Hospital and later was recruited by Pitt’s then-Chancellor Wesley Posvar to serve as the University’s assistant senior vice chancellor.
In 1989, Cochran received a Juris Doctor degree from Pitt’s School of Law.
He practiced law at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney in Pittsburgh until 1995, when he returned to the University at the invitation of then-Interim Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.
*
In other business:
• Tritch announced that the University’s annual honors convocation and the formal installation of Chancellor Patrick Gallagher are set for Feb. 28. The date, 2-28, is the 228th anniversary of the University’s founding.
• New commonwealth trustee Bradley J. Franc, appointed by Gov. Tom Corbett, will join the board at its Feb. 27 meeting. A Pitt law alumnus, Franc is a shareholder in the law firm Houston Harbaugh.
Franc, of Sewickley, has launched three companies: Legal Network Ltd., the first legal interim staffing company in western Pennsylvania; PCN Network, a real estate closing company that was sold to a private equity firm earlier this year, and Medallion Analytics Corp., which provides data services to mortgage originators and settlement service companies.
He serves on the boards of directors for Global Tax Management, General Carbide Graphite Co., LaRoche College, Catalyst Connection and World Presidents’ Organization.
• Thomas J. Usher was elected trustee emeritus for life.
Usher is non-executive chairman of the board of Marathon Petroleum Corp. and is retired chief executive officer and retired non-executive chairman of the board of United States Steel Corp. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at the Swanson School of Engineering.
During his 22-year tenure on the Pitt board, Usher was a member of the executive, athletics and health sciences committees; chaired the institutional advancement and investment committees; served on the ad hoc committee on risk and compliance, and was a University director and member of the executive committees of the UPMC Board and the Joint UPMC Presbyterian/Shadyside Hospital Board.
Usher chaired the “Discover a World of Possibilities” capital campaign, 1997-2007.
He joined the Swanson school’s board of visitors in 1986 and became its chair in 1996, a position he held for 12 years. He continues to serve as a member of that board.
Usher received the Swanson school’s Distinguished Alumni Award and was named a Distinguished Alumni Fellow and a Legacy Laureate. He also is the recipient of the University’s 225th Anniversary Medallion and the Trustees Medallion.
Usher and his wife, Sandra, established the Sandra and Thomas Usher Endowed Chair in Melanoma. They were inducted into the Cathedral of Learning Society in 2007.
—Kimberly K. Barlow