By SUSAN JONES

In addition to approving construction of a new residence hall, Pitt’s Board of Trustees last week re-elected its chair and vice chair and welcomed new trustees.

Officers

John Verbanac and Lisa Golden were re-elected to their third terms as chairperson and vice chair, respectively, of the Board of Trustees. Bylaws allow for an individual to serve for no more than five consecutive full one-year terms for each position.

Verbanac, president and CEO of the private equity and commercial real estate company Summa Development, is a 1991 graduate of Pitt’s College of General Studies and has been a trustee since 2007. 

Golden, an emergency room physician, is a former president of the Pitt Alumni Association with a 1993 bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and an MBA from the Katz Graduate School of Business. She has been a trustee since 2000.

Other trustees elected

Votes also were taken to re-elect or elect new trustees for the 2026-2030 class.

David C. Frederick, whose donation led to the renaming of Pitt’s Honors College, was elected as a Term Trustee. He transitioned from the role of Special Trustee, which has now been eliminated.

Re-elected: SaLisa L. Berrien and Edward J. Grefenstette

New trustees

Thomas Brooks: Director of sales at E Source; member of Pitt’s African American Alumni Council; and Pitt graduate with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering.

Jay Cleveland: President and CEO of Cleveland Brothers Holdings, Inc., a construction equipment company

Tony Fratto: Partner and global head of communications at Goldman Sachs. A Pitt graduate with a B.A. in economics.

William Pierce: Founder and managing director of Pierce Media & Public Affairs. A two-time graduate of Pitt, with a B.A. in political science and English and a master’s of public and international affairs.

Mary Beth Richards: Pitt graduate who played basketball in the inaugural season of the women’s program in 1974-75. She and her late husband, Thomas E. Richards — former chairperson of the Board of Trustees — have been longtime supporters of the University.

Other positions

Elected to honorary role as emeritus trustee: Gary T. Brownlee, James P. Covert, Dawne S. Hickton, and Valerie T. Njie

Elected University Directors of the UPMC Board of Directors: James Colvert (re-elected) and Roberta A. Luxbacher

Appointed Commonwealth trustee: Merrill Stabile, president of Alco Parking Corp,

Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.

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