Ken Service, Pitt’s chief communications officer (2013-2016) and previously director of news and information (1994-2001) died Jan. 29, 2025 at 78.
Service lent his communications, public relations and development expertise to industry but had a particular passion for aiding higher education, through the years serving SUNY–Buffalo, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Cincinnati, Duquesne University and La Roche University as well. He was a founding member of the National Counselors for Higher Education section of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and was inducted into the PRSA College of Fellows in 1998.
“I have no doubt that his heart was at the University of Pittsburgh,” said Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg. “When I became interim chancellor in the summer of 1995, Pitt faced challenges on a number of fronts. Among the most visible were strained relations with the media and negative reporting by the local press. Fortunately, I inherited Ken as the University’s principal spokesperson, and he was terrific in that role. He was well-respected by the journalists covering Pitt, who already knew him to be a fair, honest and thoughtful professional.
“Not only was Ken adept at helping us dig out of some pretty big holes,” Nordenberg added, “but he was determined that we begin to share the good news about Pitt more effectively. Among other things, he arranged me to do a monthly program on an all-news radio station. It was broadly titled, ‘The Higher Education Report,’ but it really was all about Pitt. Whenever we would arrive to tape the program, the person in charge would greet Ken, who was prematurely gray, as ‘the silver fox.’ It was a sign of the respect and affection that generally characterized Ken’s relationships with members of the local media.”
After his initial stint at Pitt, Service’s move to LaRoche was engendered by the chance to undertake “a much broader portfolio of responsibilities,” Nordenberg noted, “leading that university’s efforts in governmental and alumni relations, as well as communications.”
When Service moved next, Nordenberg — then chairing the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education — helped to recruit Service to be its next executive director. “It was a perfect match for the higher education community because we were moving through a period of intense pressure for nonprofits to make payments in lieu of taxes to the city. Ken’s experience in both communications and governmental relations made him an invaluable member of the higher-ed team.
“After the passage of some additional time, I completed the circle by asking Ken to come back to Pitt as our chief communications officer. He was every bit as energetic and even more capable than he had been when we started working together many years earlier.
“Working with Ken was a gift to me, just as his work was a blessing for Pitt,” Nordenberg said.
Service’s daughter, Amy E. Service, who is senior associate secretary of the Pitt Board of Trustees, said her father “had a real passion for higher education and was so very proud of all the exceptional work and progress happening at the University during both his tenures here. It was truly an honor for me to be able to work with him and see his expertise in action.
“Over the last few weeks since he passed,” she said, “many individuals have reached out to my family with stories of the impact working with my dad had on them personally and professionally. Many shared stories of how he was the first person to hire them out of school or was the first to give them a chance for success in the field. He was not only a professional mentor to many, but a life mentor as well. He truly cared for everyone he worked with and took pride in their successes. He was a consummate professional.”
She recalled fondly that “my dad was also a true blue and gold Panther fan, spending his weekends with my mom at the stadium cheering on the football team. He and I attended many basketball games together, which is a memory I will always cherish.”
Service is survived by his wife of 56 years, Rhys; children Jennifer and Amy; granddaughter Lainie; and brother Allan.
Memorial gifts are suggested to CurePSP (psp.org).
— Marty Levine